Jets GM Joe Douglas excited about chances, but 'we've got a lot to prove'
Jets GM Joe Douglas, right, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, inset. Credit: James Escher; AP
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets are projected to be one of the best teams in the AFC and could contend for the Super Bowl. The man who assembled the roster said they are embracing those expectations.
“We’re not running or hiding from any expectations that are out there,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said Thursday morning. “When the dust settles, you want to be in the conversation as one of those teams that can compete for a Super Bowl. You get a ticket into the dance and anything happens.”
But Douglas stopped short of saying he expects the Jets to make the playoffs.
“We’re excited to be in the conversation as one of the better teams in the league,” he said. “Excitement does not win games. We’ve got a lot to prove.”
Douglas isn’t wrong. The Jets won the offseason with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers in an April trade with Green Bay. That move alone made Douglas a leading candidate for NFL Executive of the Year.
If the Jets return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, Douglas likely will win the award. If they don’t, it will be a major letdown.
The 39-year-old Rodgers has changed everything for the Jets. Douglas and coach Robert Saleh have yet to publicly say this team should make the playoffs. The players, on the other hand, are openly talking about making the postseason and competing for the Super Bowl.
“Aaron came here to win,” Douglas said. “I think Aaron’s talked about it. But Aaron saw something in this group that made him want to be a part of it. He came here for a reason. We’re all doing this for a reason. We know the task in front of us. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re all excited to move forward.”
Rodgers was the potential franchise-changing acquisition, but Douglas has made other significant moves.
The Jets signed four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, former Packers receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and ex-Kansas City wideout Mecole Hardman Jr. They were added to a team that had a top-4 defense last year and a roster that already featured Quinnen Williams, C.J. Mosley, Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.
If the Jets can stay healthy, they could meet some of the expectations.
“The sky’s the limit,” Cook said.
Douglas was a part of Super Bowl championship teams in Baltimore and Philadelphia. He said the common denominator was the leadership in the locker room. He sees similarities with the Jets.
It all starts with Rodgers.
Douglas joined the long list of Jets who have talked about how Rodgers’ has been a supreme leader and he’s helping players on both sides of the football.
Douglas admitted that after the season he thought it was “very unrealistic” that he would be able to acquire Rodgers. After conversations with the Packers and Rodgers’ agent, Douglas said “it really became a real thought that it could happen around the Combine.”
Now, four months after Rodgers became a Jet, Douglas said there are times he still can’t believe he's their quarterback.
“Like five, six times a day, when I’m watching the film,” Douglas said. “There’s these throws that are unbelievable, unreal tight-window throws, the accuracy, the delivery, balls just rifle out of his hands, the decision making. It’s surreal.”
Douglas also credited Rodgers for restructuring his contract the way he did. Rodgers took a nearly $35 million paycut over two years to give the Jets the ability to sign more players and improve their chances of winning a Super Bowl.
“That discussion is really emblematic of Aaron’s entire time here and what he’s done in coming here,” Douglas said. “It’s a truly unselfish thing. It’s really going to give us great flexibility moving forward and allow us to be aggressive when other opportunities present itself.
“You just have to be ready when this opportunity comes. You don’t know who or when it’s going to happen. We’ve got great flexibility moving forward if that opportunity presents itself.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
