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Henry McKenna
AFC East Reporter
It might just be time for New York Jets coach Robert Saleh to start making some sacrifices.
It feels like general manager Joe Douglas has been dead set on working with Saleh to build one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, which makes sense given that is the position that Saleh cut his teeth coaching. First-round picks? Saleh can have them: DE Jermaine Johnson and DE Will McDonald. Big contracts? DT Quinnen Williams got his massive extension.
New York has been doing what good teams do: set up their head coach to succeed.
But then there’s the other thing that good teams do: set up their quarterback to succeed. And New York has Aaron Rodgers at QB. The Jets have run marathons to make Rodgers happy. The man has a reputation for making his preferences known.
And, frankly, it’s not just that he has strong opinions. It’s that those opinions have a massive amount of influence in the Jets organization. Rodgers is LeBron-like in taking an assistant GM role for his team. His influence is so immense that a source told The Athletic: “Rodgers isn’t the assistant GM. Joe Douglas is the assistant GM.”
“I think it’s important for me to put my stamp on this offense,” Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” in December. “We’ll have some new pieces and I want to make them in the same page.”
Rodgers added: “I’m a pretty decent recruiter, so if they have a person they want, making sure to have the right conversations with that free agent. I enjoy those conversations. … Joe and I got a great relationship, so the lines of communication were wide open.”
Later in the interview, Rodgers reviewed the state of the roster and praised each of the defensive starters. And he mentioned a pair of top-tier impending free agents.
“Jordan Whitehead has been great for us in the back end,” Rodgers said of the safety, while noting the performances of just about every defensive starter. He then added: “Bryce Huff has…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/upgrading-jets-offense-for-aaron-rodgers-will-cost-robert-saleh-on-defense
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Publish date : 2024-02-23 15:17:37
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