When the New York Jets first acquired Aaron Rodgers in 2023, talk of a potential Super Bowl run quickly became the norm. A year later, with Rodgers coming off an Achilles tear that cost him basically his entire Jets debut, star cornerback Sauce Gardner believes the expectations are the same for 2024: hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
“I mean, the same as I felt last year,” Gardner said this week, when asked about the Jets’ ceiling for this season. “I feel like we can win a championship, a Super Bowl. We got the guys, we got the coaches, we got everything we need … everything that it takes to be able to get to where we wanna get to. But, like I always say, we can’t get too high, can’t get too low. … (We’re) just always staying in the moment, not looking too far ahead.”
Rodgers, by the way, has all but echoed the sentiment.
“I think if I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing,” the quarterback told reporters this week, “we’re all probably going to be out of here. I like that kind of pressure, though. … I relish that opportunity. That’s the way the NFL is. … This is how it is every single year. As you get older in the league, if you don’t perform, they’re gonna get rid of you. … I expect us to play at a high level. I expect us to be productive and competitive.”
The Jets finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs in 2023, relying largely upon the since-jettisoned Zach Wilson following Rodgers’ Week 1 Achilles tear. Back on the field for spring practice, the longtime Green Bay Packers star also revealed this week that he essentially turned down an opportunity to run as an independent vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election in order to continue his NFL career.
