After a busy and exciting offseason, highlighted by acquiring future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a deal with the Packers, the Jets had sky-high expectations heading into the regular season.

With their top-ranked defense and a reliable gunslinger for their young talented offensive core, many viewed them as one of the top teams in football and favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Things didn’t quite go as planned, though, as Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury just four snaps into the regular season opener against the Bills and Zach Wilson was thrust back into the starting QB role.

New York’s window as a contender quickly shut closed, and they went on to finish the season third in the AFC East with a 7-10 record.

General Manager Joe Douglas spoke with reporters on Monday afternoon, and he took some time to reflect on the disappointing campaign.

“When I think back to any championship team I’ve been a part of, the storyline is how they’ve overcome adversity. Sitting here and for the last two seasons having our team defined by not being able to overcome adversity, that’s a tough thing and that’s directly on me,” he said.

“Moving forward, it’s just about learning from some of the decisions that didn’t work out for us, not repeating some of those decisions, and putting the absolute best plan in place that you possibly can.”

One of those tough decisions included not acquiring a veteran to back up Rodgers, which came back to haunt them after he suffered his injury.

Those decisions are in the past, though, and now all Douglas and the Jets can focus on is the future, which is still looking bright with Rodgers expected back under center along with their talented young weapons on both sides of the ball.

In fact, the sixth-year GM knows changes are going to have to be made over the course of the offseason, but he still believes this team’s heading in the right direction.

“No one’s happy with the way the last two years have finished, we all know we need to win and do a better job,” he said. “It’s going to take reflection and not repeating the same mistakes to reach our goals, but they are certainly within reach.”

“There are a lot of good players on this team and it’s really not as far away as it looks right now, I think we are in a position to succeed moving forward.”

Popular in the Community