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The Jets trade for Aaron Rodgers has already failed spectacularly in one way
Aaron Rodgers Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets trade for Aaron Rodgers has already failed spectacularly in one way

The Jets had two goals when trading for Aaron Rodgers, but after the team benched Zach Wilson on Monday for the even less appealing Tim Boyle, one can already be scratched off the list.

As Charles Robinson noted for Yahoo Sports following the April trade that sent Rodgers to New York, "There was still hope inside the Jets' front office that Wilson's reclamation could be a part of the broader view of this trade."

Per USA Today's Safid Deen, general manager Joe Douglas, seemingly having gotten into Rodgers's ayahuasca stash, spoke to reporters during a pre-draft news conference.

"Zach's ceiling is unlimited... And him having the opportunity to really shadow and be with a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback every day, every hour he's in the building, that's a great opportunity and a great experience."

Despite the so-called vital opportunity of learning under Rodgers during the summer, Wilson didn't improve this season. Only rookies Bryce Young and Aidan O'Connell have a worse QBR, and no quarterback has a worse completion percentage.

Instead of the Rodgers trade bringing out the best in Wilson, it confirmed our worst suspicions about him.

Granted, Wilson was forced back into action much sooner than anyone in New York hoped after Rodgers suffered a (likely) season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1, but that highlights the team's nonsensical plan at quarterback. If part of the goal in trading for Rodgers was to allow Wilson to sit, it was foolish for the team to have Wilson an injury away from playing meaningful snaps in the first place.

Robinson ended his April 2023 article by writing, "That's part of what [the Rodgers] trade offers. A two-year 'win now' opportunity for a roster that is ready, combined with a two-year 'grow now' opportunity for a young quarterback who wasn't. It can be the best of both worlds... The window is waiting."

That same window is closing, leaving the one remaining pathway for the Rodgers trade to be deemed a success resting on the strength of a repaired Achilles.

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