Skip to content

Jets' Saleh: Rodgers 'already made his presence felt'

Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Aaron Rodgers has only been a member of the New York Jets for a few days, but head coach Robert Saleh can already feel the quarterback's impact on the team.

"We're a really, really young team, especially on offense, and just to watch him and (offensive coordinator) Nathaniel (Hackett) and the way they communicate together, he's already made his presence felt with regards to meetings and input, just discussions on all of the different things we're trying to get accomplished on offense," Saleh said.

"He's a tremendous human, first and foremost, Aaron is. Just listening to him, there are little, subtle things I'm not going to get into, but he definitely cares about people and you can tell in the way he speaks to people. So we're really fortunate that he's here."

After working on a trade for the four-time NFL MVP with the Green Bay Packers for weeks, the Jets introduced Rodgers on Wednesday, one day before the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

New York drafted seven players this year, including first-round edge rusher Will McDonald IV and second-round center Joe Tippmann.

"It's been a fun week," Saleh said. "To get Aaron here, it's a blessing. ... We got a lot better this week."

New York heads into the 2023 season with Super Bowl aspirations after adding Rodgers to a team that boasted a top-five defense last year. In 2022, the Jets became the first team to have the Offensive Rookie of the Year (Garrett Wilson) and Defensive Rookie of the Year (Sauce Gardner) in the same season since the New Orleans Saints in 2017.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox