Jets owner Woody Johnson engages in damage control, drops footage of Aaron Rodgers looking ‘good as ever’
When Woody Johnson got Aaron Rodgers signed for the Jets, he would not have envisaged the roller-coaster they have been on. The quarterback was supposed to come in and make them immediate Super Bowl contenders, as he led an offense that matched their elite defense.
Instead, the former Packers star was injured on his first drive for his new franchise and spent the rest of the season on the sidelines. The Jets missed out on making the playoffs yet again and things looked bleak all around.
If the damage was only limited to that, it might have been understandable. But Aaron Rodgers' off-field shenanigans could have been a headache for the owner. Even though Woody Johnson himself is an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, his quarterback has been on a diatribe about COVID-19 vaccines. Now, if it were limited just to that, one might have ignored it.
But there were reports that Aaron Rodgers was seriously considering being the vice-presidential candidate for Robert F. Kennedy in the upcoming elections. The quarterback was ready to let go of his NFL career and ditch the Jets after they had bet their entire franchise on him.
And if that could have been explained away, the player's absence from the mandatory minicamp has again raised the question of whether the future Hall-of-Famer is invested in the team's success. When asked head coach Robert Saleh did not have a satisfactory answer to his whereabouts.
To summarize, Woody Johnson thought he was getting a quarterback that could help deliver a Super Bowl to New York. Instead, the player ended up getting hurt and missing an entire season due to an Achilles injury. He spent time in the interim exercising his free speech rights to delve into various issues other than football and then when offseason workouts began, he was noticeably absent.
But now it seems that Woody Johnson is getting active himself in trying to limit the damage the whole saga is doing. That might be to protect Aaron Rodgers' ego, who might feel that the franchise is backing him insufficiently in public and he certainly has form for that from his Green Bay days. Or it might be to placate the fans who are wondering if this season might implode like so many in recent memory.
The Jets owner posted a clip on social media of the quarterback throwing a no-look pass to a receiver in practice and said,
"@AaronRodgers12 looked as good as ever this spring"
While the throw is itself tremendous, one wonders if it will tamp down on all the speculation and hearsay. After all, nobody was questioning whether the Jets quarterback could throw a mean spiral; rather the query was if his perceived meanness was spiraling out of control where it could end up hurting the team.
Woody Johnson has no choice but to back Aaron Rodgers
One can understand where Woody Johnson is coming from. After all, he has to believe in Aaron Rodgers. After spending two first-round picks on Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson in trying to find a franchise quarterback, he learned that there is no sure thing through the draft. That is why the Jets have gone with a veteran.
Even if he is moody, aloof, or disengaged, he is proven at this level. All the franchise cares about is getting one good season from him where he can win them the Super Bowl. It's victory or bust for everyone in the organization and when one gambles with such high stakes, one has to keep believing in the wager they took even if one is having second thoughts.