With Aaron Rodgers and WR Mike Williams, Jets are all-in to gain today.

FLORHAM Garden, N. J. — There in Malibu, California– or wherever he’s hanging out this month– New York Jets lineman Aaron Rodgers is smiling.

His bosses back in New Jersey, in a period of nine days, have bolstered his enabling cast in an all- out, brake- to- the- metal effort to add a companion to the Super Bowl III trophy that– in Rodgers ‘ words– is “looking a little unhappy” in the team showcase.

The most recent addition was made available on Tuesday with the announcement that former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams had signed a one-year contract that could be worth up to$ 15 million.

Rodgers is 40 years old, so there’s no such item as tower for the future. User Woody Johnson recently raised concern that general manager Joe Douglas is filling gaps with big-name people whose free agent areas were sluggish because of durability concerns.

That’s how he landed eight- time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith, 33, who signed a one- year,$ 6.5 million contract ( with another$ 13.5 million available in incentives ) Friday. Williams, 29, had ACL operation six months ago, and he obviously has a ton of playing-time opportunities in his offer.

The hope is that Williams and Smith can turn age and injury into what they once were by teaming up with a apparently good Rodgers to end the nightmare that last year caused. Rodgers ‘ kept Achilles broke on four acts, and the Jets finished last season 29th in yards and 31st in touchdowns.

Their offensive strategy mainly consisted of a backup quarterback ( pick one, anyone ) forcing passes to wide receiver Garrett Wilson or kicking passes to running back Breece Hall. To reduce stress on Wilson, they needed another tool. That led them to Williams, whose length ( 6 feet, 4 inches ) and ability to win contestants may make a good match for Wilson’s quickness and slipperyness.

” As far as the receiver area, we’ve got some wonderful young men and we’ve got some great doctors”, Wilson said after the winter. However, I believe that a second injection from someone who contributed a unique aspect that makes the defense more anxious may be valuable to everyone, not just me.

Wilson was being political. In fact, the recipient room was filled with issue marks, none bigger than Allen Lazard, who landed on the couch after signing a four- yr,$ 44 million contract in free agency. Because of that mistake, Douglas had to venture back into the market for Williams.

” If healthy, he’s a starter, but more of a No. 2″, an AFC personnel director said. ” It seems like a solid move for the Jets– if he’s healthy”.

Williams missed 18 games over the past two seasons, including the Chargers ‘ playoff loss in 2022. His numbers were average in 2022 (63 catches, 895 yards and four touchdowns ). He has n’t been an impact player since 2021, when he posted career highs in catches ( 76 ) and receiving yards ( 1, 146 ).

Although it’s ridiculous to believe he can return to that level after three years of surgery, the Jets do n’t need him to be the show’s star. Wilson and Hall are in charge of that. They require Williams to be a complement, someone Rodgers can rely on.

Based on past performance, it should be a productive union. Since 2018, his second year, Williams leads the NFL with an average of 15.8 yards per reception, based on a minimum of 200 catches. From 2018 to 2022, Rodgers led the league with 6, 387 passing yards when targeting vertical routes, according to Next Gen Stats.

With Wilson and Williams on the outside, and with the dual- threat Hall in the backfield, the Jets can attack all areas of the field. The last time they fielded two receivers with résumés that included 1, 000- yard seasons was 2016, with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. They have a strong tight end in Tyler Conklin, but they could add firepower to that position by selecting Brock Bowers from Georgia with the 10th overall pick, which ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper predicted in his most recent mock draft on Tuesday.

Suddenly, Douglas has a lot of flexibility with that pick. By bringing in Williams, Smith, Morgan Moses, and left guard John Simpson, Douglas addressed the most pressing offense needs. Now he can sit back and take the best player, whether it’s Bowers or another tackle or a receiver if one of the big three prospects slips– Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze.

Bottom line: Rodgers ‘ supporting cast is better than it was a year ago. It’s an older group, with a lot of one- year contracts ( and injuries ), but there’s only one year that matters for the win- now Jets.