New York Jets‘ quarterback Aaron Rodgers expressed confidence in his protectors as preparations for the season opener continued on Thursday in Florham Park.
When the Jets will take the field against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, they’ll do so with an overhauled starting offensive line. After suffering through the 2023 season with a patchwork offensive line that was forced into using 12 different starting combinations, New York focused its offseason resources on the front five.
The Jets brought in two proven 33-year-old tackles and also replaced the starting left guard. In addition, they used the No. 11 overall pick on Penn State bookend Olu Fashanu.
According to Rodgers, those moves paid dividends during training camp.
“I think the whole feel is different. That happens when you bring in a couple older guys like we have. There’s a stability mentally that I think that comes with that, that those guys have played and played a lot of football and bring kind of an attitude to the room,” said Rodgers on Thursday.
Left tackle Tyron Smith and right tackle Morgan Moses have seemingly stabilized what have been two troubled spots for the Jets the past two seasons. In addition to serving as a positive force in the huddle, their veteran presence strengthens the team’s depth.
“The O-line needs to be the policeman of the football team, but also needs to be the jokesters and keep things light and I think they do a good job at that,” said Rodgers.
In addition to the battle-tested tackles, Rodgers called out new left guard John Simpson, who started for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. This summer, he was opening noticeable holes for Breece Hall in the run game.
“I think we’ve talked about it a lot, but one of the biggest surprises, with zero disrespect, has been John Simpson,” said Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP. “I think John has had a fantastic camp. You guys have watched him every day. I mean, the way he’s handled not just our D-line, which is a premier D-line, but the other teams we went against in some of these joint practices.”
The 40-year-old Rodgers knows the value of a competent center and pointed out the great potential for second-year pro Joe Tippmann.
After establishing himself as the starter for the second half of his rookie season, Tippmann is the lone holdover from the offensive line that played in the 2023 finale. The former second-round draft pick struggled to accurately snap the ball early in training camp, but that issue appears to be history now.
“We have the ultimate troll at center, which has always worked well over the years for us in Green Bay. Joe has matched his personality with his play style now. He’s a really good player and he’s a great person in that core for us,” said Rodgers.
The Jets allowed 64 quarterback sacks, including one that ended Rodgers’s season four plays into the opener, last year. It was the fourth-highest total in the NFL.
New York made multiple offseason adjustments in an attempt to significantly decrease that number while simultaneously boosting the team’s win total.
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