Aaron Rodgers, burning Jets questions entering offseason program

It is back to work for the Jets, but there will be some notable people missing.

The Jets begin their offseason program on Monday as they begin preparations for the 2023 season.

Phase One of the program runs for two weeks and consists only of conditioning, lifting, meetings and physical rehabilitation.

On-field workouts begin after that and OTAs begin on May 22.

The offseason program is voluntary except for a mandatory minicamp in June.

Here are five questions surrounding the Jets as they enter the offseason program:

1. When will an Aaron Rodgers trade get done?

The beginning of the offseason program is the first marker where it is notable that the Jets still don’t have their presumptive starting quarterback on the roster.

The Jets and Packers continue their standoff over Rodgers and next week’s draft looms as a possible soft deadline to get something done.

The truth is Rodgers probably would not be in New Jersey for much of the voluntary portion of the offseason program.

Many veterans skip the offseason program and Rodgers has done so in Green Bay in recent years.

Still, the unresolved nature of the Rodgers situation hangs over the Jets franchise.

Getting a trade done will let everyone exhale and move on.

The benefit of Rodgers not being on the roster is Zach Wilson will get plenty of reps once the on-field drills begin.

New offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will get his chance to start rebuilding the 2021 first-round pick’s confidence.

2. Will Quinnen Williams show?

Williams announced in January that he would not show up for the offseason program without a new contract.

The All-Pro defensive tackle does not have a new contract, so the expectations are that he will not participate in the voluntary program.

We’ll see what happens when the mandatory minicamp arrives.

The defensive tackle market has exploded this offseason with new contracts for the Commanders’ Daron Payne ($22.5 million per year) and the Titans’ Jeffery Simmons ($23.5 million per year).

Williams is in line, along with the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, for a new deal.

Williams missing the spring is no big deal.

Linemen do less and less every year in the program and Williams knows the defense after two years in it.

This is the only leverage he has and he is using it.

3. Is Mekhi Becton ready for a bounce-back?

The 2020 first-round pick has shown how he has transformed his body on social media this offseason.

The question now is how that translates to the field.

Becton showed massive potential as a rookie, but knee injuries have cost him the last two seasons.

A healthy and motivated Becton would be a huge addition.

The Jets surely will be careful not to have Becton do too much in the spring as he recovers from knee surgery, but his presence will be welcomed.

Becton stayed away from much of the spring program last year as he awaited the birth of his first child.

4. What’s the running back room look like?

You won’t see Breece Hall on the field this spring.

He is recovering from a torn ACL and is not expected to be back until the beginning of the regular season.

It will be interesting when OTAs begin to see what the running back rotation looks like among Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight and Ty Johnson.

Carter had a disappointing second season and Knight emerged as a rookie before fading down the stretch.

The Jets could add someone at the position, too.

5. Can the rookies of the year avoid a sophomore slump?

Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson lived up to their top-10 draft status as rookies.

Both excelled and walked away with the Rookie of the Year award on their side of the ball.

Now, they must keep it going.

Both players were very mature and motivated last season.

There is no reason to expect a slide but sometimes players struggle in their second year.

The microscope will be on these two.