It has been a whirlwind of an offseason for Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. Ever since Rodgers announced on the Pat McAfee show in March that his intentions were to play with the New York Jets, fans have been waiting with bated breath to see Rodgers throwing darts to Garrett Wilson and crew.

But the question now becomes, how long should Jets fans wait to get their first glimpse of what this season will hold for New York?

Is it week 1 on Monday Night Football against the Bills? Or is it in the preseason? Both options come with risks, but there is a clear answer.

Aaron Rodgers has not played a snap in any preseason games since 2018. Let’s be honest, he really didn’t need to do too much in Green Bay and it was important to make sure he was healthy for the Packers.

But that was a different time, in a different place with a different crew. Rodgers knew the players he was throwing to for the Green Bay Packers and he knew the offensive scheme. There wasn’t much to iron out. Frankly, it was likely much more important for the Packers to get a better look at Jordan Love than it was for Rodgers to play.

For the New York Jets, it is new players on the receiving end of Rodgers’ passes and while he may be familiar with Nathaniel Hackett’s offensive scheme, he can’t be certain with how his team sees the scheme.

What he might see as receiver making a certain break in his route, the receiver might see different. And while a team can practice and practice all they want, until they are facing actual opposition, those questions can’t be answered.

Rodgers has been a coach on the field ever since his first OTAs with the Jets, but it’s time to put some of those lessons in real game situations and see how they play out. His experience is invaluable to the offense and being able to use that insight against actual competition can provided invaluable knowledge to this offense.

While Rodgers hasn’t played in the preseason the last five years, his opening games have not gone well after missing preseason. Aaron Rodgers had a passer rating of 36.8 with 133 yards and 2 interceptions in 1 game in Week 1 in 2021. In 2022 he threw for 195 yards, an INT and no touchdowns.

It isn’t an overreaction to say week one for the 2023 Jets is an important one. If the Jets have eyes on winning the division, taking down the Buffalo Bills at home would be a good start. In a tough AFC East and an even tough AFC in general, every game is important.

Rodgers is 39-years-old and it is important to keep him healthy and the Jets have seen too many quarterbacks go down in preseason to simply trot Rodgers out early in the preseason, but he does need to see some actual game action prior to week one.

The Jets should have plans to get Rodgers at least a quarter in the final preseason game against the New York Giants. 

Jets’ Rodgers makes it clear on and off field that he is here to win

It’s almost like the Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers isn’t the Aaron Rodgers that joined the New York Jets. The guy that was portrayed to be coming over from the Packers was a sullen, malcontent diva who was only interested in taking care of himself. That is not the guy we are seeing […]

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