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Most people assumed Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury when he tore his Achilles just a few plays into his debut with the Jets, and while he’s teased a potential return after seemingly staging one of the more miraculous recoveries in medical history, there’s one stat that suggests it would probably be a bad idea.
The New York Jets came into the 2023 campaign with fairly high expectations after acquiring Aaron Rodgers from the Packers in the offseason, but the disappointment stemming from that aforementioned injury was only compounded thanks to what transpired after Zach Wilson was forced to step up to fill the void.
On Sunday, the Jets were officially eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Dolphins by a score of 30-0 on the road in Miami during a game that basically summed up everything that’s gone wrong over the course of yet another brutal season for the franchise.
While Wilson (and Rodgers) denied reports that asserted the quarterback was hesitant to step back into the starting role after he was demoted, it would’ve been kind of hard to blame him for deciding to remain on the sidelines when you consider the lack of help he’s gotten from an incredibly dismal offensive line.
That issue was on full display on Saturday, as Wilson was sacked four times before Trevor Siemian came in to replace him toward the end of the second quarter after the QB was ruled out with a head injury that was eventually chalked up to a concussion.
As Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus notes, Wilson didn’t exactly get much help from the big guys up front, as he was subjected to pressure on 75% of the snaps where he attempted a pass.
Zach Wilson dropped back 16 times and was pressured on 12 of them
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) December 18, 2023
The Jets have literally nothing to play for at this point, and that lack of protection only amplifies the absurdity of replacing Wilson with a 40-year-old quarterback who is undoubtedly still recovering from an Achilles injury despite being medically cleared to return.
Rodgers has argued he essentially has nothing to lose while asserting he’d be able to recover in the offseason if he does reaggravate the injury, but based on how the o-line is looking, he’d just be asking for trouble by willingly suiting up.