Peter King Can See Plenty of Primetime Matchups in Jets' Future
In this story:
It’s good news if you’re a New York Jets’ fan who lives outside of the local media market.
Provided they complete a deal for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Gang Green may find themselves playing a significant number of standalone prime-time games in 2023.
The National Football League limits teams to a maximum of five prime-time games per season while also ensuring that each of its 32 teams receives at least one featured exposure apiece.
In his latest “Football Morning In America” column, longtime NFL reporter Peter King speculated that the Jets could “get a full complement of prime-time games—five of them.”
That would be five times the number of primetime games that were on the Jets’ 2022 schedule. Gang Green’s Thursday night home game against Jacksonville in Week 16 was their lone opportunity to play a standalone nationally-televised affair.
Citing the Aaron Rodgers Effect, King posed the idea of the NFL awarding the Jets with a Week 1 primetime slot this year.
“The league loves Aaron Rodgers. The league will try to capitalize on the fascination of Rodgers changing teams to have a ratings bonanza in week one,” wrote King, who suggested a potential Sunday Night Football opener between the Jets and Buffalo Bills or Philadelphia Eagles.
King closed the Jets’ segment of his column by writing, “In any case, one byproduct of New York employing Aaron Rodgers this year would be the Jets becoming a national team. For 2023 anyway.”
The 2023 NFL schedule, which has yet to be finalized, will become public at some point in May.
The Jets finished 7-10 overall in 2022 while boasting the NFL’s fourth-ranked total defense.
Gang Green lacked consistent production from its signal callers. Four different Jets quarterbacks combined for 14 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions and a 56.98 completion percentage last year.
Naturally, plenty of pundits say Rodgers’ arrival would provide an instant upgrade at the position. The four-time NFL MVP, who logged a 64.6 completion percentage, threw for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in 2022.
Rodgers clearly stated his intention to join the Jets for what would be his 19th season in the NFL, but he is still under contract with Green Bay. Although the Packers seem ready to move on from their longtime star quarterback, they have yet to reach a compensation agreement with a trade partner.
Follow Jets Country on Twitter (@NewYorkJetsFN).
Like Jets Country on Facebook.
