Aaron Rodgers’ final season with the Green Bay Packers was one of the worst in his NFL career. He completed 64.6% of his throws for 3,695 yards (his lowest total in a full season), 26 touchdowns, and 12 touchdowns. With his play clearly declining and Jordan Love waiting in the wings, the Packers decided to trade him to the New York Jets.
The Packers acquired Lukas Van Ness, Luke Musgrave, Anders Carlson, Edgerrin Cooper, Jacob Monk, and Evan Williams as part of the deal, which provided them with additional draft picks. Meanwhile, the Jets received little immediate return on their part of the transaction other than a lot of preseason excitement.
Aaron Rodgers brought excitement and controversy in his first year away from the Green Bay Packers.
Unfortunately, Rodgers ruptured his Achilles just four games into his debut season with the Jets. Prior to that, the Jets’ offseason programs had generated the most interest in a long time. HBO’s “Hard Knocks” videotaped team meetings and practices, heightening fans’ enthusiasm for what many expected to be a Super Bowl season.
Rodgers’ injury changed everything. New York went 7-10 again, and Rodgers made headlines for all the wrong reasons. From contentious remarks regarding the Epstein List to a podcast interview in which he said modern architecture isn’t real, many Jets supporters began to see why some Packers fans were relieved to move on.
The main problem, however, is that Rodgers is a 40-year-old quarterback recovering from a serious injury. While he intends to play for several more seasons, there is no certainty that he will be physically able to.
Jordan Love had the best season ever as a Green Bay Packers first-year starting quarterback.
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Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers’ offense and defense grew younger, with first- and second-year pass catchers. While early results were questionable, Love ended up having the finest first season as a Packers starting quarterback in franchise history.
One NFL analyst ranked Jordan Love higher than Aaron Rodgers in his quarterback rankings.
In a recent rankings post for CBS Sports, NFL reporter Cody Benjamin placed Love as the NFL’s 10th best quarterback and Rodgers as the 11th. Regarding love, Benjamin wrote:
“One of the most dazzling watches of late 2023, Love must prove he can control his inner Brett Favre as a brilliant thrower, but one year into his tenure as Green Bay’s full-timer, he certainly appears to have the moxie of a long-term playmaker. “His young weapons are also growing.”
And of Rodgers:
“If he stays upright, he could easily remain a top-five player at the position, capable of maximizing the Jets’ playoff-caliber roster. But there is a lot of intrigue here; Rodgers isn’t just 40 and coming off a season cut short by a major injury, but he hasn’t posted elite numbers in three years.”
It’ll be interesting to watch how Rodgers does in 2024. He and the Jets, of course, continue to believe he is capable of playing at a high level. After all, his 2022 season, while dismal by his standards, was still a good one for most quarterbacks.
Love, on the other hand, continues to improve, and the players around him gain experience. It will be interesting to see whether one has a stronger year this season.
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