Aaron Rodgers 'really invested' in helping Jets, Jeremy Ruckert says
How long?
That has been the question asked about the marriage between the Jets and Aaron Rodgers ever since rumors linking the franchise and the future Hall of Fame quarterback began to spread over the NFL landscape.
And while how many seasons the 39-year-old will play for the Jets is an open question, what has stood out to Jeremy Ruckert is how involved Rodgers has been with the franchise in the very short time since the blockbuster trade that brought the quarterback to the team.
“It seems like he’s really invested early on as an older veteran and future Hall of Famer,” Ruckert, the tight end from Lindenhurst, told Newsday at his football clinic Sunday at the Lou Anthony Sports Complex in Massapequa.
“He’s there with us. Making sure that everything he wants us to do [is] the right way. He approaches the game the right way. Obviously, he has all the talent in the world, but the way he [works] in meeting rooms — he can explain the offense to us and make sure that we know why he wants us in certain places.”
The April 24 acquisition of Rodgers from Green Bay was part of a top-to-bottom offseason overhaul of the offensive unit, which began with allowing coordinator Mike LaFleur to take the same job with the Los Angeles Rams. LaFleur was replaced by Nathaniel Hackett, who was Rodgers’ offensive coordinator in Green Bay from 2019-21.
Ruckert said Hackett and Rodgers already are spending time explaining the particulars of the offense.
“Coach Hackett’s great,” Ruckert said. “The way he’s installing the offense makes a lot of sense. Aaron will make a couple comments here and there in the middle of the meeting and really make us think about why he’s saying what he’s saying and just help us understand [the offense] even better.
“. . . What’s really going to help us play as fast as we can with all the weapons we have is just understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing [and] what they want us to do and then to be able to do it as best as we can.”
Which is another question whose answer is to be determined. After a 7-4 start last season, the Jets lost their final six games and missed the playoffs for the 12th straight season, the NFL’s longest streak. But the addition of Rodgers, Hackett and receivers Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman and Randall Cobb has led to playoff expectations.
“We can play with anybody,” Ruckert said. “That’s what the goal was this offseason [and] knowing that we [have] the weapons to do it. We [have] the mindset to do it.”
The clinic, held in conjunction with the Nassau County Police Athletic League and Farmingdale-based MMP Capital, had 137 grade school-age kids develop football skills, according to John-Paul Smolenski, president and CEO of MMP Capital.
“This is a no-brainer,” Smolenski said. “Getting a guy from Long Island who [is] a prominent player for the Jets. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
