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Rich Cimini, ESPN writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be different. Unlike the other rental legends who came before him, he was going to be the one to change the culture of the New York Jets, the one to make them winners.
And yet, there he was Wednesday afternoon, standing in the middle of the locker room with four games left in a lost season, admitting that the job is too big to accomplish in one year, even for him.
“It could be some kind of curse that we have to break,” Rodgers said.
Football players aren’t supposed to talk about cursing (that’s taboo in their game-to-game world), but Rodgers has seen a lot in his short time with the Jets, and he’s certainly learned a lot about cursing. crossed paths of the franchise.
Nine losing seasons in a row. Fourteen consecutive years out of the playoffs: the longest active drought in the NFL. More than half a century since his only appearance in the Super Bowl.
After blowing a fourth-quarter lead and falling to the Miami Dolphins 32-26 on Sunday, wide receiver Garrett Wilson said the Jets (3-10) have a “losing problem, like a gene or s— “.
The Jets acquired Rodgers in 2023 to change that, just as they tried with Brett Favre in 2008, Neil O’Donnell in 1996 and Boomer Esiason in 1993, quarterbacks who won elsewhere. They tried it with several other future Hall of Famers past their prime, hoping some of their fading greatness would escape them.
Nothing has changed.
Rodgers didn’t get a chance to work his spell last season because he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1. He’s healthy now, but the Jets will win fewer games than they did last season (7-10 ) unless they end a four-fight winning streak.
The future Hall of Famer’s message on Wednesday wasn’t all doom and gloom. He expressed some hope.
“This team, this organization, will figure out how to get over the hump at some point,” he said. “The culture is built by the players. There is a framework established by the organizations, the senior management, the staff and, in the end, it is the players who make this come to life.”
When asked to assess the current culture, Rodgers said: “We haven’t figured out how to prepare and mix that special sauce yet. It’s close. There are a lot of great guys in the locker room. There’s a good mix of veterans and young guys. There’s just no We have achieved everything.”
Rodgers said that “your best players have to be your best people” and they have to lead with their attitude and practice habits. Those players, he said, are the ones who set the tone.
The four-time MVP has tried to lead by example by playing through a variety of leg injuries, although critics might question his leadership by pointing out that he skipped a mandatory minicamp in June to vacation in Egypt. He was fined by the team.
There’s a lot of culture talk surrounding the Jets, who are 0-7 in games decided by six points or less, a clear illustration that they don’t have a winning formula.
“We have paying fans, season ticket holders, and at the end of the day we’re still losing, so they probably feel like they’re just wasting money,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “I don’t want to keep losing. I want to do whatever it takes to change the situation.”
Rodgers, 41, probably won’t be around next season to finish it off. Perhaps his impact will be felt after he leaves, whether in 2025 or 2026. He said teammates must be held to “a standard that’s pretty high.”
“Until that happens,” he said, “you’re touching the edge of that special sauce that makes the locker room have that really good chemistry.”
