The New York Jets are once again in the spotlight with a healthy and sometimes present Aaron Rodgers. Back from his international sojourn and allegedly committed to winning football games, the former VP hopeful is saddled with high expectations entering his age-40 season.
Normally it's unwise to expect elite production from a 40-year-old quarterback, but Rodgers has made every effort to remove benefit of the doubt from the equation. There is little remaining sympathy after another summer of shenanigans. If he struggles, 90 percent of the NFL fanbase (and probably a sizable portion of the Jets fanbase, honestly) is ready to celebrate in the streets. Rodgers will adorn the Hall of Fame one day, but right now, he's viewed more as a distraction than a football player.
Rodgers has made his bed, so now the burden is on him to perform. The Jets put a nice team around him this offseason, drafting left tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round and inking free agent WR Mike Williams to a one-year, $10 million contract.
When healthy, Williams is one of the most explosive pass-catchers in the sport. Paired with Garrett Wilson, New York has one of the most dynamic WR duos in the NFL. That's not enough for Rodgers, though. He's still daydreaming about his prime days in Green Bay, when he was lobbing bombs to Davante Adams.
Rodgers and Adams have been spotted out and about this offseason, and apparently Rodgers is taking those opportunities to pitch a reunion to the Las Vegas Raiders wideout. That's not to say his pitches have been effective, though.
Look, credit to Rodgers for shooting his shot. He and Adams go way back and that has been a fruitful connection in the past. Of course, the Jets would look better with Adams lining up wide and stretching defenses vertically.
There's only one issue: Adams is under contract with the Raiders. In fact, he has weathered countless trade rumblings and a lot of locker room turmoil since arriving in Las Vegas. And yet, there he is, primed to operate as the No. 1 target for Aidan O'Connell or Gardner Minshew when the 2024 season kicks off.
Adams was a vocal supporter of Antonio Pierce in the Raiders' head coaching search. He is a core member of that organization and he's under contract through the 2026 season, so there's little incentive for Vegas to jump ship. If Adams were itching to leave and begging publicly for a trade, that would be one thing. But he's not. In the clip above, he tells Up and Adams' Kay Adams in no uncertain terms: "I'm a Raider, and [Rodgers] knows that."
So, with all due apologies for the New York faithful, we can put the Rodgers-Adams fanfic to bed. Maybe if Rodgers puts another few years under his belt, there's a chance to reunite in free agency. But frankly, it doesn't feel like Rodgers will stick around that long, and Adams clearly does not view rejoining Rodgers as a priority.
The Jets should be a lot of fun if everybody is healthy and happy, but Adams is out of the picture. He's concerned with putting Las Vegas on the map.
