Mike Tannenbaum does not believe Aaron Rodgers has been the best quarterback in New York so far this season.
Tannenbaum, who was the GM of the Jets from 2006-12, appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Wednesday alongside Christine Williamson and Jason McCourty, to react to Aaron Rodgers’ segment on “The Pat McAfee Show” where the quarterback disavowed the idea that he was behind the ouster of head coach Robert Saleh.
The ex-Jets exec declared that “right now,” Daniel Jones is better than Rodgers.
After McCourty said that the firing should motivate the Jets players to execute better, Tannenbaum said that Saleh’s firing was merited before pivoting to how the 2-3 Jets can improve from here.
“It was the right decision. He was 20-36 as a head coach. He had plenty of time to prove his worth,” Tannenbaum said.
“Now look, there was some inconsistent play at quarterback, but that’s at every team. So now, if I’m [interim head coach] Jeff Ulbrich, I got a massive opportunity on Monday night [against the Bills.] Let’s go into first place. To Jason’s point, let’s play good football. They have to get Garrett Wilson going. He’s a star. They don’t need Davante Adams. Get these players they have better. Get Braelon Allen and Breece Hall on the field at the same time. They can be much more diverse on offense. I think that will go a long way in helping them.”
Williamson asked Tannenbaum if Rodgers had to have had some “influence” in Saleh getting fired by Woody Johnson.
“Well, there certainly could be, but the bottom line is Aaron Rodgers needs to play better,” Tannenbaum said.
“Right now, candidly, Daniel Jones is the best quarterback in New York if you watch the film. So Aaron Rodgers should worry about Aaron Rodgers. He’s 40 years old. He’s a skill-deficient player. He’s not the same player he once was.”
Jones and the Giants are 2-3 after upsetting the Seahawks on the road on Sunday.
Tannenbaum said that’s “OK” as the Jets can still compete with Rodgers, as they did in Week 3 against the Patriots, but “what gives him the best chance to be successful is to be a lot more balanced — he’s not the same player but [the Jets] can still win with him.”