Sauce Gardner: Jets will make playoffs ‘straightforward’ with Aaron Rodgers
Sauce Gardner is definite the Jets will finish their playoff drought with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
Gardner, the 22-year-old Jets nook who received the NFL’s defensive rookie of the yr award final season, appeared on The Ringer’s “Sluggish Information Day” with Kevin Clark.
Clark requested Gardner if the staff will make the playoffs this season after acquiring Rodgers in a trade with the Packers on Monday.
“Oh yeah, most positively, we was a playoff staff final yr,” Gardner answered.
“However with A-Rod becoming a member of, and some extra new items, that simply makes it, you recognize, straightforward.”
The Jets haven’t made the postseason since 2010. And now that the Kings made the NBA playoffs this season, the Jets are tied with the NHL’s Sabres for the longest drought of any staff within the 4 main skilled sports activities.
In a press convention on Tuesday wherein he mentioned the commerce that’s anticipated to get finalized this week, Jets common supervisor Joe Douglas was very enthusiastic about touchdown Rodgers.
“Aaron is among the finest QBs to ever play,” Douglas stated. “It’s an actual credit score to Robert [Saleh], his workers and what he’s been capable of implement with our gamers and with everybody right here, {that a} participant of Aaron’s caliber would even wish to come right here.”
Aaron Rodgers traded to the Jets
On Monday, after months of hypothesis and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The commerce instantly upgrades the Jets from rising staff to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will assist break one of many longest lively postseason droughts in sports activities.
The commerce
The Jets obtain: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 decide (2023) and No. 170 decide (2023).
The Packers obtain: No. 13 decide (2023), No. 42 decide (2023), No. 207 decide (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft decide that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers performs 65% of the Jets’ performs in 2023.
What comes subsequent
The commerce nonetheless must be finalized — the phrases of Rodgers’ contract should be labored out — and despatched to the NFL.
Each groups will start feeling this deal as early as Thursday on the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Inexperienced, it’s about getting an entire host of recent faces on the identical web page offensively.
The place is Rodgers presently?
The 39-year-old was out and about in Calabasas, Calif. when he obtained phrase of the commerce, all smiles as he picked up coffee and groceries. For Rodgers and Jets followers, it’s hopefully just the start of their good instances.
After the information of the Rodgers commerce broke on Monday, Gardner shared a text exchange on social media that he had in March with the quarterback, referring to a Cheesehead hat Gardner sported after the Jets defeated the Packers in October.
“Lol. Why do u nonetheless have that?” Rodgers requested Gardner concerning the cheesehead.
Gardner responded, “I envisioned this. I knew it was gonna be an opportunity that you simply change into a Jet. I’m ready so that you can change into a Jet so I can burn it & we will win a Superbowl collectively.”
To this, Rodgers replied, “Can be a fairly sick story wouldn’t it?”
Want to catch a game? The Jets schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
Rodgers serving to the Jets ending their playoff drought as Gardner predicted might be the first step in that potential story.