The New York Jets are having a nightmare of a 2024 season. New York is 3-8 heading into Week 12 but their season feels like it is basically over. The Jets have made plenty of moves recent to suggest that change is coming in the offseason. Now it is just a matter of limping through the rest of the regular season.
Jets fans were stunned to learn that general manager Joe Douglas was fired on Tuesday. An article released later that day by The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini revealed details about where things went wrong.
The article includes one particularly grisly example that suggests Woody Johnson forced Douglas to make a move he didn’t want to.
Jets staffers were shocked when Douglas fired assistant GM Rex Hogan, someone very close to Douglas and his family. Sources within the building theorized that Johnson forced Douglas to fire his friend.
That theory gained credibility when Douglas reportedly told Jets staffers “Woody should just fire me now” shortly after the incident.
This is one of several moments from that article that highlight how Woody Johnson meddled in football operations. Meddling owners are usually not a good thing for professional sports teams.
The Jets are on a bye week in Week 12. Next up for New York is a Week 13 game against Seattle.
Woody Johnson rejected Joe Douglas’ Jets trade proposal for AFC West wide receiver
The discord between Woody Johnson and Joe Douglas apparently goes way back.
Another example from that article from The Athletic shows Woody Johnson interfering with Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh’s plans for the team.
“Last offseason, both (Robert) Saleh and Douglas agreed they needed to focus on rectifying some past mistakes they had made in free agency — specifically, they wanted to avoid aging players or ones with injury concerns. Douglas pursued a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, offering Allen Lazard and a Day 2 draft pick, according to a league source, but Johnson nixed it. Jeudy was instead traded to the Cleveland Browns.”
It is fascinating to learn some of these details after the fact. This anecdote makes it sound like Douglas and Saleh had a better understanding of New York’s needs that previously thought. Unfortunately, it seems like ownership got in the way by meddling directly in football operations.
Since this theoretical trade included Allen Lazard, it is fair to wonder if QB Aaron Rodgers had any part to play in killing the trade.
Jerry Jeudy could have been a solid addition to the Jets. Jeudy has hauled in 39 receptions for 560 yards and two touchdowns through 10 games played. It is fascinating to imagine the Jets ending up with Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson, and Jerry Jeudy as their wide receiver room. There is no guarantee that the season would have played out differently. However, it sounds like a solid move that was never allowed to happen.
It will be interesting to watch which moves Woody Johnson allows the Jets to make this offseason.
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