Jets Might Prefer Carr to Rodgers

Derek Carr met with the New York Jets and isn’t simply the backup plan should the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers not be available.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Will Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers be the Week 1 starter for the New York Jets? Or will it be Derek Carr?

Carr, who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders last week, has wrapped up his free-agent visit with the Jets. Carr isn’t just Plan B, should Rodgers come out of his darkness retreat having decided to retire or return to Green Bay.

Rather, the 31-year-old is considered a strong candidate to be the “missing piece” signing for a team with NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year receiver Garrett Wilson, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year cornerback Sauce Gardner and a defense that ranked fourth in points allowed, fourth in total defense and second in yards allowed per play.

With a lot of the pieces in place, the Jets are in dire need of a quarterback if they’re going to contend with the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and the Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals in the conference overall. While the defense was fourth in points allowed, the offense was fourth-to-last in points scored.

Is Carr as good as Rodgers? Perhaps not. But he’s eight years younger, making him a longer-term solution rather than a potential one-year rental. Plus – and this is important for a team that believes it could be a championship contender – Carr wouldn’t cost the Jets a draft pick or picks. Thus, the Jets could get a quarterback and add the 13th pick of the draft.

Whether it’s Rodgers or Carr, the new quarterback would arrive to a friendly face.

New Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was Green Bay’s coordinator from 2019 through 2021. The Packers won 13 games all three seasons, with Rodgers winning MVP honors in 2020 and 2021. During their three seasons together, Rodgers threw 111 touchdowns vs. only 13 interceptions. That’s 8.54 touchdowns for every interception.

The Jets recently hired Todd Downing as passing-game coordinator. Downing was on the Raiders’ staff for Carr’s Pro Bowl seasons of 2015, 2016 and 2017. Carr threw a career-high 32 touchdown passes in 2015 and a career-low six interceptions in 2016. His three-year total with Downing was 2.56 touchdowns for every interception.

It all went wrong for both quarterbacks last season.

Having lost All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, Rodgers posted a 91.1 passer rating that ranked 16th in the NFL. His 26 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions produced a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.17. He failed to produce a single 300-yard game and wilted in the win-and-in finale vs. Detroit.

Having gained Adams, his friend and former college teammate, Carr posted an 86.3 passer rating that ranked 24th in the NFL – a sharp downturn from his 94.0 rating that ranked 14th in 2021. He threw 24 touchdowns vs. 14 interceptions, a ratio of 1.71.

With a promising roster and coach Robert Saleh, the Jets will be a preferred destination for any of the available veteran quarterbacks.

At SportsBetting.ag, Carr is the favorite to be the Jets’ Week 1 starter and Rodgers is the favorite to be the Raiders’ Week 1 starter.

More Green Bay Packers Offseason News

Part 2 of our #Packers free agency series continued with cornerback Corey Ballentine.https://t.co/EBTFh1I7bt

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) February 20, 2023

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