Hoping for Health over Long Haul, Jets 'Going All-in'
The comparisons between the 2023 New York Jets and 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been drawn by many, including Tom Brady himself.
Like Tampa did prior to the 2020 campaign, Gang Green acquired a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to revitalize its offense with the hope of chasing a championship. Aaron Rodgers could be the missing piece for a team that featured the NFL's fourth-ranked defense a year ago.
“It’s a great opportunity, just like I felt like I had in Tampa when I went there and I was throwing balls to Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin] and Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] came,” said Brady in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated. “He’s going there to New York with other very talented players at the receiver position. I think he’s going to be very invigorated. I’m certain he’s going to do a great job.”
The key for Rodgers, and the team as a whole, will be to maintain good health throughout the season. The Bucs lost the fewest games to injury in 2020 according to Football Outsiders. Unfortunately, there's a component of luck in that equation and the Jets have already suffered a minor blow on the injury front.
With veteran safety Chuck Clark, a presumed starter, out for the season due to an ACL tear sustained during OTAs, SI's Albert Breer focused on the health factor in his latest MMQB Takeaways.
From Breer's Takeaways:
The Jets’ loss of Chuck Clark underscores how much the team is in for 2023.
That’s not to say that New York won’t have young pieces to build around post–Aaron Rodgers: Quinnen Williams, Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Breece Hall are all young and good enough to be cornerstones for years to come, with a handful of others (Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald IV, etc.) having the potential to get there, too.
It’s just that when you acquire a quarterback of Rodgers’s ilk, and bring in vets such as Clark, who is coming to chase a ring, the current year becomes paramount in a different way.
It’s where the Buccaneers were the past three years after signing Tom Brady in 2020. They mortgaged contracts, built aggressively and wound up with plenty to show for it, of course. They also provided the perfect example of how fickle the NFL can be, with injuries such a huge factor for everyone, and especially a team going all-in. Check this out …
In 2020 the Buccaneers were remarkably healthy—ranking as the league’s healthiest team in Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost statistics ... In 2021 the Buccaneers sunk to 16th in AGL ... In 2022 the Bucs were 28th in AGL. ...
— Albert Breer
Breer, who visited the Gang Green's final OTAs practice in Florham Park, subsequently suggested that the Jets' decision to cancel their mandatory minicamp was made with the team's long-term health in mind.
READ Former NFL QB Calls Jets 'Unquestioned Super Bowl Contenders'
“The season is grueling. That window, there’s a science behind the whole thing where you give guys a week off," said Saleh during his sit-down with Breer. “So there’s a theory behind it, and right now, for us, what was more important, the extra reps or the health in training camp—we chose health in training camp.”
The Jets' will have an earlier-than-usual training camp report date due to their participation in this year's Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH. The Green & White will kick off the NFL Preseason schedule against the Cleveland Browns on August 3. It's customary for veterans to arrive at camp 15 days prior to their first preseason game.
READ MORE:
Three Takeaways from Albert Breer's Sit-Down with Robert Saleh
Exploring Rodgers's 2023 Fantasy Value and Projected Season Totals
Three Takeaways from the Jets' First Week of Summer
Jets Among NFL Teams 'Facing Greatest Burden of Expectation' in 2023
