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A very, very important question was posed to Garrett Wilson on Thursday: “Have you spoken to Aaron Rodgers since he left?”
“I ain’t talked to Aaron since he left,” Wilson said. “So, wish him the best this season. But, yeah, we ain’t chopped it up since he left.”
Who cares?
And why would they speak after Rich Cimini announced in late December, 2024 on his podcast: “I’ve talked to people in Garrett Wilson’s circle. They think, now I want to emphasize this is speculation on their part. They think he will ask for a trade after the season.”
Wilson is represented by CAA (Creative Artists Agency).
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had a similar to report to Cimini’s a few weeks later.
So with Wilson’s camp floating this stuff, who the hell would expect these two to speak after Aaron Glenn cut Rodgers?
Clearly, that question was meant to stir things up, and it did – this story is all over the internet.
But while Wilson is perhaps happy that Rodgers is gone, and obviously happy with his new contract, how happy is he going to be during the season, with the passing offense going from Rodgers to Justin Fields?
Wilson had a somewhat quiet training camp by his standards. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t prolific.
The new QB, who is not known for being elite at going through progressions, didn’t always seem to be on the same page with the team’s #1 WR, and had a proclivity to deliver the ball late at times.
Wilson had a career high 101 catches last year with Rodgers under center. Let’s see what kind of season he has with Fields, who perhaps doesn’t have the same field vision as Rodgers.
Hey, it could turn out great with the Fields-Wilson combo flourishing.
But it could also turn into a “be careful what you wish for” scenario . . .
We all know Jermaine Johnson is an every-down end, a powerfully built 6-5, 254 pounds.
So you really never have to take him out of the game, aside from when he needs a breather.
However, on the other side, the team’s best edge-rusher, Will McDonald, is a tad on the slender side, and at times, not do to a lack of effort, can struggle against the run a little. This is due to no fault of his own, but more because he’s around 240 pounds and is often matched up against 300-pound tackles, who sometimes can engulf him on run downs. And hey, it’s the way he’s built that makes him such a terrific edge rusher with a great burst and “bendability” to get around the edge.
So you have to wonder if they will go with a little bit of a platoon of Michael Clemons and McDonald at the end spot opposite McDonald, with Clemons playing on clear rushing downs, and McDonald on obvious passing downs . . .
Sauce Gardner is listed on the injury report with a “fibula” and was limited in practice on Wednesday, but was full on Thursday.
He was wearing a compression sleeve on his right leg during Friday’s practice.
This injury occurred late in training camp when he collided with another player in the end zone while breaking up a pass.
He should be full go in the game on Sunday, but we all know how long these kinds of pesky leg bruises can hang around . . .
I asked Jets running back the difference between running against a 3-4 defense like the Steelers, compared to a 4-3 front.
And one thing he said that was interesting is that if you get past the first level, there is one less defender to deal with when facing a 3-4 front.
A 3-4 front is almost like a five-man line, with three massive interior linemen and two edge-rushers.
So it stands to reason, if you can get past that first wave, there is one less defender to deal with on the second level.
September 5, 2025
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