Aaron Rodgers wore a headset on Saturday night, which the Jets hope was the last time.
The Jets were without their starters and most of their key reserve players for their final preseason game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. Rodgers will next be on the field on September 9 in San Francisco, when the Jets will be able to put their newly formed offensive line to the test for the first time.
The biggest changes and improvements to the jets are in the front area.
The Jets’ championship dreams start with keeping Rodgers healthy. He tore his left Achilles tendon four snaps into the game last season when left tackle Duane Brown’s botched cut block led to a sack by Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd.
The Jets’ offensive line looks very different now, with right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker the only starter expected to face the 49ers in Week 1 of 2023.
Center Joe Tippmann finished his rookie season as the starting center and will fill that spot this year. The new faces are left tackle Tyron Smith, left guard John Simpson and right tackle Morgan Moses.
Smith and Moses are important new additions who are making an impression on and off the field.
“They’re old souls,” Robert Saleh said. “They were coached by Bill Callahan, who is as tough a football coach as any from an offensive line perspective. They’re here. They embrace the difficulties. They embrace the pressure. They embrace the rigors of the workload.”
“Because they embrace it, the younger players recognize it and embrace it. Because of the way they do their thing, I don’t want to call it an old-school mentality, but it’s the right mentality to prepare to play football. They do it with a smile on their face and a desire to do more.”
Smith, a future Hall of Famer, might still be the NFL’s best left tackle at 33. The former Cowboy has missed 37 games over the past four seasons, which is why the Jets limited him in training camp, but he still did his job.
Moses, 33, has been solid throughout. He’s missed just three games in the last nine seasons — all of them last year after suffering a torn pectoral muscle. Moses, in his second stint with the Jets, had it repaired after the season. He was also down on the snap count list, but he’s ready to go.
The plan is to keep the versatile Vera-Tucker, who is returning from a torn Achilles tendon, at right guard for the entire season. First-round pick Olu Fashanu will be the Jets’ swing tackle in a pinch. They can very well use him as a backup and cover both positions.
“He’s been very steady,” Rodgers said. “There aren’t many games where he seems out of position or overreaches.”
Fashanu was like a sponge, soaking up all the advice Smith and Moses gave him. The two were selfless in that regard, going out of their way to help the Jets’ young linemen with tips or techniques.
“You see them every day after practice, grabbing some of these younger players and putting more work into them,” Saleh said. “The elite of this world always want more. They don’t compromise. They don’t ask for less. They want more and they will do whatever it takes to get more.”
Fresh blood was needed on the offensive line. The turnover due to injuries last season contributed to the Jets’ offensive mistakes.
The Jets started 13 different O-line combinations and had 10 players play more than 200 snaps. Jets quarterbacks were sacked 64 times, fourth-most in the NFL. Rodgers’ quick release should mitigate that, but he also has a stronger, tighter group protecting him.
Tight end Tyler Conklin repeatedly referred to “the cohesion” of the offensive line. Smith said the chemistry of this group “grew pretty quickly.”
“We’re a pretty close group so far,” Smith said. “That’s because we stick together every day and try to get better.”
This gives the Jets even more optimism as the season approaches.
“I’m really excited about the position of our O-line,” Saleh said. “Off the field, seeing things that we haven’t seen in three years, just talking about the connection that they have with each other. It’s starting to feel authentic. It feels like something I can’t explain to you. It’s just a different feeling with this group than it has been for the last three years.”
Final touches
The Jets had 34 players on their roster who were not scheduled to play on Saturday. Players competing for a spot on the 53-man roster included second-year running back Izzy Abanikanda, receiver Jason Brownlee, tackle Max Mitchell and defensive ends Jalyn Holmes and Eric Watts.
Adrian Martinez started at quarterback with Andrew Peasley as backup. One of them will likely be on the practice squad.
Human resources relocation
The Jets named Jon Carr and Greg Nejmah co-directors of player personnel, Dan Zbokovsky senior director of football operations, Jay Mandolesi director of college scouting and Nick Sabella senior director of football administration.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after covering the NBA for nearly two decades with the Knicks and Nets.
