The Jets were on a lot of primetime games in 2023, even after Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 of this past season. So when the NFL scheduled the Jets with the most primetime games in 2024, the league's VP of broadcast planning said — perhaps, in jest — that the Jets "owed" them one for failing to deliver a star-studded season a year ago.
Mike North, the executive who said the infamous line, walked back those comments on ESPN's "The Adam Schefter Podcast." North added that he "took some grief for saying they owe us one" and that while the Jets don't actually owe the NFL anything, the team does owe someone else in 2024.
“They don’t owe the NFL one; they owe the fans one," North said. "We are all excited to see Aaron Rodgers. Now we’re going to get that chance again."
JETS 2024 SEASON: Full schedule | Biggest revenge games | Top-5 matchups
It's tough to argue with that logic considering the teams exist to provide entertainment for fans. But it's not like the Jets — or the league — scripted a season-ending Achilles injury for the player they traded for just a few months earlier.
However, the decision not to upgrade the offensive line or have a suitable backup quarterback is certainly the team's fault, and one general manager Joe Douglas made sure to correct before the 2024 season. He signed two new offensive linemen (Tyron Smith and John Simpson) as well as veteran backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor in free agency. Douglas also traded for offensive tackle Morgan Moses and drafted offensive tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round. New York added veteran wideout Mike Williams and drafted receiver Malachi Corley in the 2024 NFL Draft.
All of those moves were done to fix the mistakes of the past. Will it work? That remains to be seen and is very much on Rodgers. And the Jets quarterback understands the pressure mounting on his shoulders. As does the coaching staff and front office.
New York will play six primetime games and another standalone contest in the first 11 games of the season. That's a lot of green to open the year. Hopefully, that's enough to satiate a fanbase and a league that feels the Jets should make up for a lost year.
