FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- In their final three practices of the season, the New York Jets were reminded of what might have been. And what might be.
Late-season practices can be a slog for teams out of the playoff picture, but they juiced it up by incorporating a "competition" period into each day and having Aaron Rodgers lead the way. The Jets didn't publicize it -- practices were closed to the media -- but soon word started to leak because players were buzzing about what they saw from Rodgers.
Until then, Rodgers had been limited to scout-team work -- running the opponents' plays -- but he was moving so well on his surgically repaired Achilles that the coaches decided to let him cook. It was first-team offense against the first-team defense, no coaches, just Rodgers calling plays for the offense and linebacker C.J. Mosley calling plays for the defense.
"It's like watching Picasso paint," tackle Mekhi Becton after one of the practices.
Everyone was transported back to a happier time. Early in training camp, when Rodgers' left Achilles was healthy and their Super Bowl dreams were whole, the Jets conducted a handful of practices that included competition periods. Best-on-best always raises the energy level, and so they tried to recreate that vibe before everyone scattered for the offseason.
By all accounts, Rodgers was magnificent.
"At some points, he was picking us apart and throwing dimes in there," Mosley said. "You kind of catch yourself, looking at it again, like, 'Dang, that's Aaron Rodgers throwing the ball.'"
The end-of-the-year surprise produced mixed emotions. There was a hint of melancholy, as players witnessed what was taken from them in 2023 -- a future Hall of Fame quarterback with the ability to galvanize the team. Without Rodgers, the Jets started four different quarterbacks, finished 31st in total yards and went 7-10, eliminated from the postseason with three games to play.
Mostly, they saw the last three practices as a sneak preview of 2024, a Rodgers trailer, so to speak -- something to dull the disappointment of a lost season and inspire hope for next year. Rodgers, too, said there was excitement, but he also acknowledged, "The 'what if?' kind of hits you in the face pretty hard because, obviously, if you saw what we were able to do, there's a lot of what could have been."
Operating from a wristband that included six to eight different plays each day, Rodgers was in total command on Wednesday (mixed downs), Thursday (third down) and Friday (red zone). Players said Rodgers was so into it that it seemed like he was trying to make up for lost time, slinging the ball around the field, pointing out would-be blitzers and even calling plays that weren't on the script. He challenged Sauce Gardner -- not many quarterbacks do that -- and completed a back-shoulder throw that amazed the All-Pro cornerback.
Rodgers being Rodgers, he couldn't resist a brag.
"[I] proved I can maybe still play a little bit," he said, grinning.
SEVEN OF THE 32 teams are looking for a head coach, but the Jets -- with the NFL's fourth-worst record over Robert Saleh's three seasons (18-33) -- are running it back with Saleh because ownership believes the formula it created last year with Rodgers still can work. Indeed, his anticipated return has fueled optimism. Maybe "refueled" is a better way to put it.
"It's really not as far away as it looks right now," general manager Joe Douglas said.
The Jets are counting on Rodgers to make a full recovery and perform at a level closer to his 2021 MVP season (74.1 QBR) than to his 2022 Green Bay farewell (a career-low 41.3 QBR). That's a big ask, considering his age (40) and the severity of his injury, but they believe the commitment is there.
"He's on a mission," Saleh said, "and he's not going to stop until his mission is complete."
Rodgers isn't a magician, though. As he said, "We need some pieces."
Specifically, he mentioned wide receiver and the offensive line, where they could add two or three new starters. The Jets allowed 64 sacks (tied-28th), including league highs at center (8.5), right tackle (14) and left guard (9.5, tied for the most), according to Next Gen Stats.
A quadragenarian quarterback behind a leaky offensive line is bad news waiting to happen. And yet there's a sense in the locker room that Rodgers will make everything better, that his experience and expertise will elevate those around him. They still believe in his leadership; his teammates voted him the Dennis Byrd Award for the most inspirational player, moving him to the verge of tears when it was announced.
"I do think Aaron is going to come back and make some big changes to the team, for lack of a better explanation," center Connor McGovern said. "It was kind of built around him. The offense is tailored to him."
Wide receiver Garrett Wilson took it one step further, saying in a radio interview, "Aaron is the offense."
Indeed, some talk about Rodgers as if he's the offensive coordinator, not Nathaniel Hackett. McGovern used a Formula One racing analogy to describe Rodgers' importance to the offense, saying it's akin to a Red Bull racing car driven by someone other than world champion Max Verstappen. The car, customized for Verstappen, isn't as fast with someone else behind the wheel, according to McGovern.
With Rodgers behind center, the Jets have a "fixer" -- or at least that's how he's viewed internally. Without the use of pre-snap motion, he can take a still photo of the defense with his mind's eye, diagnose potential issues and make adjustments before the snap.
The Jets prepared this way for five months, from OTAs through training camp. It was a race against the calendar, knowing Rodgers -- with his sophisticated hand signals and cadences -- needed all that time to get the offense installed to his liking.
The all-in approach conjured up memories of a famous quote from former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore. Once asked why Peyton Manning's backups didn't get more reps, Moore replied, "Fellas, if 18 goes down, we're f----d. And we don't practice f----d."
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT happened to the Jets when Rodgers was injured on the fourth play of the season. They were painfully slow to adjust on the fly, as the offense hit an eight-game stretch where it failed to produce more than one touchdown in any one game. The desperation reached a crescendo when Zach Wilson was replaced in Week 12 by Tim Boyle, a former practice-squad player. Eventually, Hackett tweaked a couple of things over the second half of the season.
He utilized running back Breece Hall as a pass-catcher, sometimes splitting him wide in empty formations. He finished with 76 receptions, tops among all backs. Hackett also utilized more pre-snap motion with Wilson and Trevor Siemian at quarterback. In the last six games, they used some form of motion on 27.5 plays per game, up from 19 plays in the first 11 games, per ESPN Stats & Information.
One problem that never got solved was the rash of pre-snap penalties; the Jets tied for the league lead with 52. They're convinced that Rodgers, with his command at the line of scrimmage, will be able to cure that epidemic.
The coaching staff recognizes it could've done a better job in the aftermath of the Rodgers injury and it will study ways to make the offense more quarterback-friendly for quarterbacks not named Rodgers, who sounded eager to take part in the process.
"Nate and I will spend some time really taking a deep dive into the offense and kind of what we want to do moving forward," he said.
There's a sense among players that they can build on the foundation set last offseason, that they've already moved past the get-acquainted stage with Rodgers and can focus on fine-tuning. One area that needs attention is the offensive line, with some players saying there needs to be a better sync between Hackett's system and line coach Keith Carter's blocking scheme.
Rodgers' attendance for voluntary workouts will be critical. A year ago, he attended every workout as he assimilated into his new surroundings and tried to rebuild the culture. He hasn't mapped out his offseason yet, but he said he'd like to attend as many days as possible.
Once again, the expectations will be massive. Rodgers fueled them last spring by famously noting the "lonely" Lombardi Trophy in the team's showcase -- a 55-year-old trophy, lonelier than ever.
"It's still sitting in the same spot," Rodgers said. "By itself."