New York Jets One Way To End Rumors, Leaks, and Potshots

The 2024 offseason has been a roller-coaster of leaks, rumors, and complaints for the New York Jets - an extension over the past decade of futility. For it to end, Gang Green must do what they haven't been able to accomplish.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers' season is over. / Danielle Parhizkaran / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's the never-ending saga with the New York Jets.

Every time they seem to make a strong move like signing an All-Pro tackle like Tyron Smith, or trading for a future Hall-of-Famer in Aaron Rodgers, the positive effects never come. Instead, rumors, anonymous sources, and ineptitude are the only things that follow.

There's a two-part reason to this of course. First, the Jets, long known as a down-on-their-luck organization, can easily be seen as a franchise where frustration has run rampant. Second, being a New York team with a massive and rabid fanbase, any sort of news that is tied to them is blown up more than other franchises in smaller markets.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks out onto the field with the offense to face the / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com /

The latest example came on NFL Network Wednesday when Colleen Wolfe, a long-standing reporter for the network, shared a source that told her head coach Robert Saleh and owner Woody Johnson got into a "heated discussion." Wolfe did not know what the conversation was about, or if the conversation should even have been interpreted as such, but went on "Inside the NFL" to talk about it.

The story, despite being shot down by the Jets owner, ran like wildfire because it's New York, and because it adds to the previous expectation of dysfunction that other reports have followed this offseason.

Whether it's anonymous sources detailing the coaching staff being inadequate, players being unwilling to play, or ownership turning to fans for advice, news and rumors have traveled fast when it comes to the Jets this offseason.

And unfortunately, there's really only one way to change it.

Winning.

Winning is the one thing that will quiet down the noise that comes from consistent losing. It's the one thing that could silence disgruntled internal employees, or executives in the locker room trying to save face. It's the one thing that can have their fans overlook previous transgressions of ridiculousness over the years.

Whether it was the quarterback getting mono, a different quarterback breaking his jaw during a locker room fight, lengthy trades of disgruntled players, or the Hall-of-Fame quarterback being lost for the season four plays into his debut due to a torn Achilles, the Jets and their fanbase have been through a lot. The only way for anyone to look past those issues is by actually winning football games and looking good while doing so.

That, at the very least, is understood by everyone in the building.

“The reality is winning offseasons doesn’t matter,” Saleh said Monday at the NFL’s owners meetings. “We’ve got to win football games. No matter how much excitement there is around the organization. No matter how much excitement there is around free agency or the draft, none of it matters. Just got to keep our heads down and find ways to get better and continue to have a great offseason. When we get to the season, we’ve got to find a way to put Ws in the win column.”

The notion of "winning cures all" isn't lost on an organization that hasn't done the first part of that mantra in years. For the Jets to shake off the embarrassing storylines, anonymous sources, or public jokes at their expense, it's the only thing left to do.