FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — It's the ultimate «get rich quick» scheme: A perennial loser, thinking it's one player away from greatness (and feeling pressure to get there), junks its long-term plan for a one- or two-year shot at the Super Bowl.
These are the 2023 New York Jets, who desperately hope their acquisition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers allows them to be like Tom Brady and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: a successful marriage between a star-crossed franchise and an aging legend in search of another Super Bowl ring.
Considering all the key factors — a gaping hole at quarterback, a win-now defense and emerging stars on rookie contracts — the trade for the former Green Bay Packers star makes sense.
Even at 39, one year removed from his fourth MVP season, he gives them a puncher's chance in the stacked AFC. That hasn't been the case in more than a decade.