Jets' Aaron Rodgers 'completely sucked the air out of the building,' ex-NFL star says
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 10: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets looks on in the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on November 10, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Aaron Rodgers has essentially built the team around him since he entered the New York Jets’ organization in 2023, and the team has added pieces in the offseason and during the 2024 season that should have benefitted the quarterback and the team in general.
However, as Rodgers has settled into his first healthy season with the Jets, it has not gone as planned. The 10-time Pro Bowler has 2,258 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes. New York is 3-7 this season and ranked 26th in scoring and yards gained.
Boomer Esiason, a former Jets and Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback, did not mince words on Monday following the team’s 31-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
"I hate to say, it’s like Aaron Rodgers has completely sucked the air out of the building," Esiason said on WFAN’s "Boomer & Gio." "And I think so many guys are deferring to in their minds. In their minds, in my mind, he is a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame player, one of the great quarterbacks when he was in his prime that we have ever seen.
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"Very few people throw the ball like him. And I used to say that Dan Marino, Joe Namath and Aaron Rodgers all threw the ball significantly different than everyone else, like we’ve never seen anything like it. And I will go to my grave still thinking that those three players were that special when they were throwing the ball. And how they looked at throwing the ball was just so natural and amazing."
Esiason pointed to the situation with Mike Williams.
The veteran wide receiver and Rodgers did not appear to connect on the field. It led to the Jets trading for Davante Adams and sending Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Sunday, Williams made the go-ahead touchdown grab for the Steelers in their victory over the Washington Commanders.
"Since he’s come here over the last two years, every player on this team, I feel like, has deferred everything to him," Esiason added. "And the reason I say that is because Russell Wilson said something about Mike Williams yesterday. And it was being reported during the game that when Mike Williams showed up to Pittsburgh, he showed up with such a big smile — and he was so happy. Like, he was so unencumbered by playing for the Jets, with the Jets, for Aaron Rodgers, that he makes the game-winning touchdown catch over his left shoulder in an amazing sequence of events.
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"Because the reason he’s on the field is because the guy that would’ve been out there on the field gets hurt on the previous play — and that’s the only reason he’s out there. And Russell Wilson has the confidence to throw him the football, and it was a game-winning touchdown pass. And what Russell was talking about, Mike Williams, basically, gives you a real perspective of what’s going on in that locker room over there for the Jets."
The hype appeared to be the only thing Jets fans could hold onto as the season churns on. New York isn’t exactly out of the playoff picture, but a miracle does need to happen.