NFL Rumors: Jets Not Eyeing Philip Rivers, Roethlisberger After Aaron Rodgers’ Injury

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The New York Jets “do not have any plans to reach out to Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, Philip Rivers, Blake Bortles or Ben Roethlisberger,” according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

Russini provided more insight into the Jets’ approach to replacing Aaron Rodgers after the surefire Hall of Famer suffered a torn Achilles.

“Though this is Wilson’s team, the Jets are exploring the veteran QB market,” she reported. “They told each quarterback they spoke to that [Zach] Wilson is the starter and they would be coming in as a backup.”

Russini listed Colt McCoy and Chad Henne as players New York has spoken with directly.

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported Sunday the Jets are “pushing their chips in their table on Zach Wilson.” He added the team doesn’t believe any of the available options are better than what it has with the 2021 first-round pick.

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Do the Jets right now believe in Zach Wilson? @JayGlazer has more ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8mQeo7FlGz

You can’t blame Jets fans for feeling apprehensive about the idea of Wilson being the full-time starter for another year. While New York earned a win in Week 1, his final stat line (14-of-21 for 140 yards, one touchdown and one interception) didn’t offer a lot of encouragement.

Even for those who believe in Wilson, heading into Week 2 with Tim Boyle as the backup isn’t going to work for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Bringing Rivers or Roethlisberger simply isn’t the solution, though.

Rivers hasn’t played since 2020, though San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed he might’ve approached the former Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts star about suiting up if the Niners had reached Super Bowl LVII.

Roethlisberger, meanwhile, retired after the 2021 campaign and was showing his age before hanging up his cleats. His 6.2 adjusted yards per attempt were his second-fewest over a full season, per Pro Football Reference. Big Ben had never been less of a threat to stretch opposing defenses down the field.

More broadly, Rodgers’ injury reinforced what was already a concern for the Jets coming into the year. Throwing another aging quarterback behind this offensive line could be a recipe for disaster.

New York’s front office is basically stuck after going all in on Rodgers and watching the strategy immediately unravel. The pickings are always slim once the season starts, and the front office has to operate for now as if the four-time MVP will be back in 2024.

Whatever the Jets’ plan to replace Rodgers looks like in the end, it’s bound to be a major downgrade in the short term.

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