As the fallout from the latest salacious New York Jets article continues, a new report contradicts at least one of its claims.
According to New York Post reporter Brian Costello, it was not Johnson who nixed the Jets’ proposed trade for then-Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy. Rather, the Jets’ offer was a fourth-round pick and Allen Lazard, and the Broncos did not want Lazard.
Johnson did mention Jeudy’s Madden rating, but it was not used as a reason to nix the trade.
Obviously, there is an aspect of damage control in this report. The Jets are trying to remove the perception that their owner utilizes Madden ratings in his decision-making.
However, the angle that the Broncos declined the Jets’ offer makes far more sense than the idea that Johnson nixed it.
When the initial report in The Athletic indicated that it was Johnson who refused the offer of Lazard and a pick, something seemed suspect. It was highly unlikely that any team would have wanted to take on Lazard given his miserable 2023 season and his $10 million guaranteed salary for 2024.
This is pure speculation on my part, but it sounds as if Mr. Johnson does not know much about player personnel beyond the players’ Madden ratings, so that is all he has to contribute to the conversation. That does not mean the Jets are making decisions based on players’ Madden ratings.
It is still a bad look for the organization for such a report to come out, especially considering many of the other details involved. However, it certainly adds context to the Athletic report — and, perhaps, also indicates that there may be a lot more context missing from the report.
As Jets X-Factor’s Robby Sabo wrote, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle, and the details don’t matter that much. But this one detail, at least, seems to have been inaccurate if not outright false.
