Things started so good, but ended so badly between Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson on the New York Jets.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed some new details on how things fell apart in a column posted on Tuesday, June 24.
“By the end of last season, Wilson and Rodgers weren’t exactly the best of friends. A relationship that started with promise ended with each taking subtle shots at each other in press conferences. Privately, Rodgers complained about Wilson’s tendency to freelance on routes, and there was frustration from Wilson — and others — about how Rodgers was funneling targets to Davante Adams, shying away from running the ball and ignoring Wilson in the red zone,” Rosenblatt said.
You Can’t Take Away Wilson’s Superpower
Coming out of Ohio State, Wilson’s best ability was polarizing.
“Garrett, who was also a Division I basketball recruit out of high school, credits hoops for helping him develop the route athleticism and fluidity in and out of breaks that make him a three-level threat on the football field,” Jets senior contributor Randy Lange wrote on April 29, 2022.
“Hindered by elongated stem and excessive stutter-stepping,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote as one of Wilson’s “weaknesses” heading into the 2022 NFL draft.
Wilson has a rare fluidity with his route running. When you watch him during games, Wilson looks like he has a basketball in his hands, trying to pull off a crossover move on whichever defender is opposite him.
It’s unique, rare, different, and it is what makes Garrett Wilson, well, Garrett Wilson. However, it has sometimes proven difficult for Wilson’s quarterbacks on the Jets to get on the same page.
Rodgers cracked a joke last offseason that sometimes Wilson’s route running can juke him out as the quarterback. Apparently he wasn’t joking after all.
Offenses can often be timing-based. Quarterbacks expect their wide receivers to be at a certain part of the field at a certain time. With Wilson’s unique improvisational skills, he doesn’t always fit a square peg into a square hole.
That proved to be an issue between Rodgers and Wilson. The good news is A-Rod is in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, and Wilson is reunited with his college quarterback, Justin Fields.
Wilson’s Superpower Should Vibe With Fields in New York
Rodgers and Wilson couldn’t get on the same page. That shouldn’t be a problem for Fields and Wilson.
The pair were teammates at Ohio State. Now they’re reunited and it feels so good.
“I’ll just say that, he trusts me, I trust him, we’ve got a good communication, we speak to each other well, we know what the other is thinking, and that’s key,” Wilson said via Rosenblatt. “Him being able to say: ‘Garrett, I don’t want you running like that, that was the wrong route.’ Stuff like that, in a certain way, where he knows I’m not going to take it the wrong way and we’re just trying to get the best out of each other. I know what he can do. I still think the world’s gotta see it. We all got something to prove on this team.”
Fields also told the media this offseason that he and Wilson “haven’t skipped a beat.” The true test will be in the regular season, but it’s hard not to feel optimistic about what this pair can do in 2025.
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