Joe Flacco, who has become a playoff push hero for the Browns, is preparing to face his former team the Jets on Thursday Night Football. Flacco was waived in favor of Zach Wilson reclaiming the starting role after Aaron Rodgers went down with injury. However, as a result, Jets fans have begun to lament all the times that their franchise has seemingly gone out of its way to miss out on a franchise-altering quarterback.
This trend started in 1983 when the Jets passed on Dan Marino. Decision makers later said that they skipped Marino due to the Steelers passing on Marino. Marino was a hometown hero in Pittsburgh. However, Marino would then become a divisional nightmare after being picked by the Dolphins. Less than a decade later, a last-minute trade fell through, preventing the Jets from picking Brett Favre. Later in the 90s, the Jets, holding the No. 1 pick in the draft, didn't do enough to convince Peyton Manning to forgo his senior year at Tennessee. Even as recently as 2018, the Jets passed on Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson to take Sam Darnold.
Aaron Rodgers Addresses Criticism For Coming Off IR
Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers, who is expected to be QB1 for the Jets next season, has spoken out after being activated from injured reserve. "I assumed I was going to go on IR. I asked to be put on IR, but then there was a conversation. 'Do you want to practice?' I said not at the expense of somebody getting cut. I know how this works - I didn't feel like I needed to practice to continue my rehab. I could do on-the-field stuff on the side, but, obviously, I got overruled there. It is what it is. This was an interesting situation," Rodgers told The Pat McAfee Show this week.
Rodgers was activated on December 20, when his 21-day practice window closed. If he had been kept on IR, he would not have been able to practice with the team for the rest of the season. Despite having been eliminated from playoff contention and with no plans to feature Rodgers in a game, the Jets moved him to the active roster. This led fullback Nick Bawden to be waived and later signed to the practice squad.
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