Aaron Rodgers goes into the darkness, and the Jets are hoping he’ll come out with their gentle.
The most important story of the NFL offseason is the way forward for Rodgers, who’s scheduled to start out a four-day darkness retreat this week with the hopes that isolation will carry him some readability on his soccer future.
The Jets have publicly telegraphed their hopes to carry Rodgers, who has spent his complete 18-season professional profession in Inexperienced Bay, to Florham Park by hiring offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — whom Rodgers has praised prior to now — and saying that they need to add a veteran quarterback. The Publish’s Brian Costello confirmed on Sunday that the Jets have had preliminary discussions with the Packers about buying and selling for Rodgers.
Now, there are logistics to contemplate right here, primarily what the Jets must give as much as commerce for Rodgers and that he’s owed $59 million in money in 2023. Rodgers additionally might be 40 years previous subsequent season, brings lots of baggage off the sphere and his numbers dipped final season after successful consecutive MVP awards in 2020 and 2021.
You could possibly make the argument that he wouldn’t be definitely worth the kind of package deal the Jets may have to surrender to get him.
You could possibly additionally make the argument that he could be the lacking piece to vault the Jets into Tremendous Bowl competition. And people sorts of items — even when these questions do encompass them — don’t turn into out there typically.
No matter his present age and private baggage, Rodgers is without doubt one of the most gifted quarterbacks to ever play soccer, interval. He has received 4 MVP awards, a Tremendous Bowl and efficiently changed some of the beloved figures in franchise historical past with out a lot of a hitch in Inexperienced Bay.
The Jets protection ranked fourth within the league in yards allowed and factors allowed per recreation. They’ll have working again Breece Corridor again subsequent season after he tore his ACL halfway by way of 2022, and receiver Garrett Wilson received Offensive Rookie of the 12 months this week. The items are there, besides on the quarterback place, the place Zach Wilson and Mike White each affirmed this season that neither is the reply.
Rodgers, like Brett Favre throughout his one-year stint as a Jet, may backfire. The parallels are uncanny — all that’s lacking is Jordan Love changing into the NFL’s subsequent nice QB — however the Jets must do one thing to get to the subsequent degree, and Rodgers is staring them proper within the face.
Zooming out, the place Rodgers will go if not the Jets, or whether or not he’ll play soccer in any respect subsequent season, hangs over the NFL offseason. We would get a solution quickly, if the darkness brings Rodgers the readability he expects.
Right here’s a fast have a look at the opposite tales we’ll be speaking about till kickoff in September.
Lamar Jackson’s free company
Jackson is way and away the perfect quarterback — and due to this fact the perfect participant — out there in free company this offseason, if it will get that far. The Ravens reportedly will use the franchise tag to maintain Jackson in Baltimore if the 2 sides can’t comply with a long-term extension within the weeks forward, NFL Community reported final week.
If Jackson is tagged, although, it may set the stage for him to be traded or depart in free company in 2024. It’s no secret that gamers don’t like being tagged, and the $32.41 million that might be owed Jackson if Baltimore goes that route could be beneath his worth on the open market. Jackson reportedly needs the kind of cash Deshaun Watson received (5 years, $230 million assured), and if he can’t get it in Baltimore, he might look elsewhere.
Do the Colts commerce up on the draft?
You could have heard: The Colts want a QB. Fortunate for them, the Bears, who personal the No. 1 general decide within the draft, have already got Justin Fields underneath middle, and aren’t prone to transfer on from the Ohio State product. So, can the Colts work one thing out to get in place to draft Alabama’s Bryce Younger, Kentucky’s Will Levis or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud?
As a result of they maintain the fourth general decide, a commerce may not be crucial for the Colts to get a quarterback, particularly as a result of the Cardinals, who decide third, are additionally set on the place with Kyler Murray. But when the Colts determine they need one over the remaining, then the Bears could be ready to take benefit.
How do the Eagles deal with their slew of expiring contracts?
After shedding the Tremendous Bowl, Eagles GM Howie Roseman instantly wants to determine how one can maintain as a lot of the staff collectively as he can. Among the many gamers whose contracts expire: Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumelo, Miles Sanders, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, James Bradberry and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Plus, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen goes to Indianapolis because the Colts’ subsequent head coach and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is interviewing for the job in Arizona. And Roseman wants to contemplate an extension for Jalen Hurts, who’s coming into the final 12 months of his contract and should need to get one thing carried out this offseason.
Obtained all that?
The NFL is designed for parity, so it’s no shock the Eagles are dealing with some obstacles. However it is a lot to cope with, even with that in thoughts.
At the moment’s again web page
Greater than bragging rights
Abruptly, Knicks-Nets has some significance past native bragging rights. That’s as a result of the Nets, after dealing away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, are attempting to hold onto their playoff spot and the Knicks are attempting to climb their means out of the No. 7 seed and place within the play-in-round.
The Knicks (32-27) closed the hole Monday evening with a 124-106 win on the Backyard — their first win within the collection since Jan. 26, 2020 — and now sit simply two video games behind the fifth-place Nets (33-24).
The Nets’ cushion within the standings isn’t any small deal, particularly as they work to combine Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith into their rotation. Nonetheless, it’s greater than potential the Nets drift again to the 7-10 spots within the East and discover themselves within the play-in spherical. Given all the things that’s occurred to the Nets this season, it could be virtually laborious to name {that a} failure — GM Sean Marks was proper to chop bait on the Irving-Durant mixture and in some methods, simply having Irving out of city seems like a win — however they’re already far-off from the place any of their followers anticipated them to be this season.
The cross-river rivals end the season collection again on the Backyard on March 1.
Numbers to know: Knicks 124, Nets 106
Behind Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, the Knicks beat the Nets, 124-106, on the Backyard to maneuver to 5 video games over .500 (one off their season excessive) and inside a half-game of the sixth-place Warmth. The Nets fell to 2-4 since they traded Kyrie Irving. Right here’s a fast have a look at the inter-borough bout:
4️⃣0️⃣ Factors for Brunson, his third recreation this season of 40+ factors and fifteenth effort of 30+. Brunson is averaging 29.8 factors in 21 video games since Jan. 2.
0️⃣ Turnovers for Brunson, together with 5 assists, whereas taking pictures 15-of-21 from the sphere and 6-of-9 from 3-point vary.
2️⃣7️⃣ Factors for Hart in 27:54 (third-most on the staff) on 10-of-14 taking pictures, together with a pair of game-sealing nook 3s.
9️⃣ Consecutive head-to-head wins for the Nets in opposition to the Knicks earlier than Monday evening.
1️⃣2️⃣ Minutes for Ben Simmons, 12:41 to be actual, a season low for a recreation he didn’t depart as a result of damage. Simmons registered two factors, three rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.
— Jonathan Lehman
The primary indicators of spring
It feels fairly becoming that lower than 24 hours after the Tremendous Bowl, we have been handled to movies of Aaron Choose taking batting apply from Tampa. Pitchers, catchers (and a few place gamers, together with those that are scheduled to play within the World Baseball Basic) are down in Florida already, and right here in New York, that’s one thing of a vacation.
It’s the Mets, not the Yankees, who come into this season wanting like title favorites. However this time of 12 months, it’s sufficient simply to get enthusiastic about baseball coming again into the fore.
To get you prepared, The Publish has a full Spring Coaching Preview, wherein…
⚾ Joel Sherman provides a have a look at the 50 most fascinating individuals in baseball.
⚾ Mike Puma wonders if the Mets have sufficient offense even in spite of everything of Steve Cohen’s spending.
⚾ Greg Joyce digs into the most important storyline at Yankees camp, the shortstop battle amongst Oswald Peraza, Anthony Volpe and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
⚾ Mike Vaccaro considers what Aaron Choose can do for an encore to his MVP season.
⚾ Jon Heyman writes that the 12 months of the half-billion greenback staff is about to start.
⚾ Steve Serby chats with the Yankees’ new $162 million starter, Carlos Rodon.
