Troy Aikman shares expectations for Aaron Rodgers with New York Jets
Expectations are high for Aaron Rodgers to succeed as he enters his first season under center for the New York Jets.
Rodgers knows that, as does Troy Aikman, who offered his take on Rodgers’ upcoming season in New York during Saturday’s “NFL Live.”
“It’s a fair question,” Aikman said. “I think Aaron would probably be the first to say he didn’t play to his standards last year. And was that an anomaly? I tend to think it probably was. How much of that had to do with some of the youth they had at wide receiver? I’m sure a fair amount of it. I’ve been through that myself with young receivers. And when you’re a veteran quarterback as he is, I think the bar gets raised exponentially. I do expect him to play at the level we’ve seen of him, really, throughout his entire career.
“I do think even if you’re a Hall of Fame quarterback and you’ve won four league MVPs as Rodgers has, when you go to another team, in a lot of ways, you’re kind of starting over from scratch, even though the expectations, obviously, are very high… Would think that there’s a little bit of pressure on the quarterback because you’re now doing things for the first time in front of your current teammates, current coaching staff, what they gave up to get you, there’s a lot that comes with that. But I do like this football team. There’s a reason, in addition to Aaron Rodgers being there, why they’re considered contenders in the AFC.”
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets agree on new two-year contract
Rodgers and the Jets agreed to terms on a new contract this week which will keep the 39-year-old in the Big Apple through 2024. It’s a two-year deal worth $75 million guaranteed for Rodgers, acquired from the Green Bay Packers earlier this offseason. He had nearly $110 million guaranteed remaining on his old deal in Green Bay.
Coming off back-to-back MVP campaigns, Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2022. After a season which saw Rodgers working with rookie receivers such as Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, he walks into a room which features up-and-coming star wideout Garrett Wilson, as well as Allen Lazard, who caught passes from Rodgers the last five seasons in Green Bay.
The deal reflects the words from Rodgers Wednesday, in which the four-time NFL MVP said he didn’t envision his Jets career being one-and-done.
“Definitely some of it is how much fun I’m having. It’s all about the body. How my body feels,” Rodgers, who turns 40 in December, told reporters, via Randy Lange of the team’s website. “The team gave up significant pieces for it to be a one-year deal, I’m aware of that. Now again, anything can happen with my body or with the success we have this year. But I’m having a blast, so I don’t really see this as a one-year-and-done thing.”