Behind the Steel Curtain
Feat. Gang Green Nation’s MacGregor Wells.
Ever since Aaron Rodgers signed with the Steelers, there’s a newfound sense of optimism for the upcoming season in most corners of the fanbase.
New York Jets fans were once in a similar spot when their team traded for the future Hall of Famer in 2023. However, instead of the franchise turning a corner, two miserable years of football followed.
To be fair, Rodgers missed all but a handful of plays of the 2023 season due to a torn Achilles, but he started all of 2024 — a five-win season for the Jets. New York released Rodgers in February 2025.
To get a more weathered perspective on the current state of all things Aaron Rodgers, I reached out to SB Nation’s own Jets site, Gang Green Nation, for their perspective. Deputy Manager MacGregor Wells was kind enough to answer my questions and relive the Jets’ dismal 2024 for this article.
You can read my questions and MacGregor’s answers below:
There are direct effects and indirect effects attributable to Rodgers. Starting with the indirect effects, the Jets, as is their way under football visionary Woody Johnson, began the Rodgers era with some very stupid moves.
In order to entice Rodgers to come to the Jets, the Jets hired his former offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, to be their offensive coordinator. Hackett is a monumentally bad coach. No team in the NFL would have touched him after his run with the Denver Broncos, so of course the Jets considered him a must-have. The result was, once Rodgers signed on with the Jets, Hackett screwed up the offense, and Rodgers had free rein to basically do whatever he wanted under his buddy offensive coordinator.
In addition, the Jets signed Allen Lazard to further entice Rodgers. Lazard is a man with no discernible wide receiver skills, but he was a Friend of Aaron, so not only did he get a roster spot, he became a key part of the Jets offense. Another dumb move.
The direct effects of Rodgers were his deteriorating skills and his stubborn opposition to running a modern NFL offense. Rodgers is nowhere close to his MVP days, and it showed on the field.
He no longer is mobile. He is afraid to take a hit, resulting in a bunch of rushed throws. His arm strength, accuracy and ball placement are all diminished. He is simply no longer a top talent at the position.
Rodgers still has enough to occasionally light up bad defenses, but his limitations became very clear against good defenses. Against playoff teams the Jets averaged 13 points per game on offense with Rodgers under center. That simply should not happen on an offense featuring Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams and an offensive line that was above...
