The New York Jets keep finding new ways to make negative headlines.
Since head coach Robert Saleh was dismissed, a sluggish start has turned into a full meltdown.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ future is up in the air, there are rumors that star wideout Garrett Wilson wants a trade, and a 4-10 record means the longest playoff drought in American sports will continue.
It looked like things couldn’t get much worse, but a devastating report from The Athletic added more fuel to the dumpster fire.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Los Angeles Rams, it was claimed that owner Woody Johnson’s teenage sons, Brick and Jack, had too much influence over the team.
The report also claimed that Johnson vetoed a trade for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating was too low and told quarterback Mike White “you f****** suck” in an X-rated blast.
“When we’re discussing things, you’ll hear Woody cite something Brick or Jack read online that’s being weighed equally with staff opinions,” an unnamed Jets executive is quoted as saying.
The report also mentioned a nightmarishly awkward locker room incident over Halloween.
Following a win over the Houston Texans – Jeff Ulbrich’s first in the NFL – Rodgers was about to give the interim coach a game ball.
“But before Rodgers could speak, Brick Johnson took another game ball and awarded it to wide receiver Garrett Wilson in a profanity-laced exclamation, which the owner’s son later posted to Instagram,” The Athletic reported. “Woody Johnson then gave Ulbrich the ball Rodgers had been holding.
“Multiple players said the energy felt drained out of the room.”
An unnamed played added: “[It was] the most awkward, cringe-worthy, brutal experience.”
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Former NFL superstars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson discussed the fallout on their Nightcap podcast.
“This starts off when we are kids, our parents teach us not to lie, then they turn around and tell us Santa Claus and the god damn tooth fairy is real,” Ochocinco began on a festive tangent.
“I think we all need to live in a world where we are all just honest with each other. Your boss should be able to tell you that you absolutely suck at your job.”
“I should be able to tell him he suck at his too,” exclaimed Sharpe.
“Exactly, even if it’s our childhood dream and we happen to make it, sometimes we need to be told that we’re really not good at what it is that we’re doing,” continued Ochocinco.
“You gotta be careful. You catch the right person on the wrong day,” warned Sharpe. “When stuff like this gets reported, someone is leaking it.”
Sharpe thinks overzealous owners are a problem in the NFL and took aim at a familiar target in Dallas Cowboys chief Jerry Jones.
“You see what I’m talking about,” he added. “You see how awkward this is.
“Now imagine you the Cowboys coach and every time you try to talk, Jerry yapping his mouth before you get to speak. Now you see what I’m talking about.”
Jones has come under fire several times this season.
The Cowboys mogul has been attacked over his negotiation tactics with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, as well as his support for head coach Mike McCarthy.
His refusal to prevent the sun from shining in players’ eyes during home games also caused controversy, as well as his love of allowing fans unprecedented access to the team’s facility.
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