Mike Florio Argues Prime Time Heavy Schedule Isn't Great For Jets Players

For the second year in a row, the New York Jets are scheduled for six prime-time games.

In 2023, the NFL anticipated widespread excitement and fanfare around the debut of Aaron Rodgers in NYC — so they packed the team's schedule to get as many eyeballs as possible. Well, we know how that one turned out.

Aaron Rodgers missed all of 2023 after he tore his Achilles four plays into the first game.

(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

This season, the league wants a do-over. And the NFL is, once again, putting a whole lot of faith in Rodgers' ability to draw ratings. But according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, this schedule isn't doing Jets players any favors.

"The truth is, the broadcast partners are clamoring for Aaron Rodgers," Florio said on his Pro Football Talk Live show Friday. "So they loaded it up early before the Jets have the wheels come off. The problem is they’re kicking the wheels off by doing this. 

"By having them hopscotch the country and play short weeks twice and all of these prime-time games. There’s an extra layer of stress and strain that goes into all of these stand-alone games and all of this travel early in the season." 

New York Jets Have Grueling Schedule

Florio has a point here. Just take a look at the first few weeks: The Jets will open their season in Santa Clara, Calif., in a Monday Night game against the San Francisco 49ers. Then, they head to Nashville to face off against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. From there, it's back up to New York for a Thursday Night Football match-up with the New England Patriots.

That's three games in 10 days — spread (quite literally) all the way across the country. Not great for a team whose primary concern is keeping its 40-year-old quarterback healthy.

Mike Florio says the Jets' schedule will be hard on the players.

(Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports)

In that way, Florio said, the league is prioritizing ratings over the "integrity of the game" for the Jets.

"You still have an obligation to balance things out," he explained. "It can’t be, ‘let’s have the best possible TV audiences.' That can’t be the driving factor. It should be a fair balance for all teams. At some point, it’s just going to be whatever we think every week is going to lead to the biggest ratings and the biggest numbers and the most money. That’s what we’re going to do, and it’s unfair to certain teams to do that."

C'mon Mike, have you met the NFL? It's always going to be about what can make Roger Goodell & Co. the most money.

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Aside from player health, though, the league is also making a huge assumption by highlighting so many Jets games — that Gang Green will actually be relevant and exciting to watch.

That's a bold strategy, Cotton. We'll see if it pays off for them.