To the New York Jets: PLEASE, End This Rodgers Madness Once and For All

Fine, I'll admit it: I'm so, SO very sick of talking about Aaron Rodgers.

Now, to be fair, his transition from Green Bay to New York was arguably the most interesting story in all of sports in 2023. He quickly embraced a leadership role after joining the Jets, and when the NFL calendar hit Week 1, he seemed poised to lead the Jets to a playoff berth, if not further.

Then, four plays into that journey, it all came crashing down around Gang Green.

Since then, Rodgers has recovered from his Achilles injury in remarkable time, but the Jets have been unable to hold up their end of the bargain during that time, and now, the team sits multiple games out of a playoff position entering Week 13.

Despite that adversity, Aaron Rodgers returned to practice this week. Though his presence on the field was a welcome sight for fans, I simply cannot see this ending well for anyone involved.

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A Letter to the New York Jets: Put Fans Out of Their Misery, Already

On Wednesday, the New York Jets chose to open up Aaron Rodgers' 21-day practice window. In theory, the Jets now have three weeks to decide whether or not Rodgers, who is still on injured reserve, is healthy enough to return to the field.

If he's deemed healthy enough, he'll be added to the active roster. If not, he'll remain on IR for the remainder of the season.

The buzz of that news lasted exactly 24 hours, as by the time Thursday rolled around, Aaron Rodgers was already forced to miss practice due to soreness.

There are so many reasons for Rodgers and the Jets to choose to shut this experiment down. First, let's not forget that Rodgers returned to practice from an Achilles injury, an injury that takes normal people six-to-nine MONTHS to recover from, in ELEVEN WEEKS.

You simply cannot convince me that he is healthy enough to move around a football field at NFL speed.

Then, you have to examine the situation to which Aaron Rodgers will be returning. The Jets are currently 4-7, tied for the second-worst record in the AFC. The teams with which the Jets are tied, the Chargers and Titans, both hold tiebreakers over New York.

So, out of the 16-team AFC, the New York Jets sit in 15th place. As a brief reminder, the top seven teams from each conference make the playoffs.

The offensive line is in shambles. The Jets also have one wide receiver who hasn't been a disaster (Wilson), and one running back who's performed at all (Hall). You're really expecting a less-than-healthy Aaron Rodgers to sit behind a brutal offensive line, and only have two useful weapons to throw to/work with on offense?

To the New York Jets, I say this: please, put everyone, including your own fans, out of their misery already. To borrow a football term, punt on 2023. The season was lost four plays into the first game, and any belief other than that was a fraudulent one.

The last thing I, or anyone else, want to see is Aaron Rodgers hobbling out onto the field in a (likely) meaningless game, only to get clobbered again, and go down for a second time this season.

Let's make 2024 the magical year for Gang Green, because 2023 has been anything but.