By Zack Rosenblatt, Michael Silver and Dianna Russini
The New York Jets were nearing the finish line on a deal to acquire wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos last offseason, but the trade fell apart when Jets owner Woody Johnson nixed the idea over Jeudy’s player rating in the “Madden NFL” video game, according to multiple team and league sources.
Jeudy was eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns instead and became a 1,000-yard receiver there. The Jets, meanwhile, have slumped to 4-10 amid a disappointing season.
Those disappointments have resulted in Johnson orchestrating the firings of head coach Robert Saleh five games into the season and general manager Joe Douglas after Week 12.
In September, Johnson suggested to a room full of Jets coaches and officials that the team bench future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to multiple team sources. Instead, a week later Johnson helped pull the strings to land All-Pro wideout Davante Adams to serve as Rodgers’ top receiver, a role that could have been held by Jeudy.
The proposed Jeudy trade wasn’t the only time Johnson cited “Madden” ratings when evaluating players, according to the source. The owner pushed back on signing free-agent guard John Simpson in the offseason due to his “awareness” rating in the video game. The Jets signed Simpson anyway, and he has had a solid season.
To some, the reference to the video game ratings is a sign of Johnson allowing his teenage sons, Brick and Jack, to influence the franchise.
“When we’re discussing things, you’ll hear Woody cite something that Brick or Jack read online that’s being weighed equally against whatever opinion someone else in the department has,” said one Jets executive.
Current and former players and coaches have also said Brick and Jack have brought friends — male and female — into the locker room, where Woody Johnson, his wife, Suzanne Ircha Johnson, and his sons have criticized players.
In another instance, on Halloween night this season, Rodgers entered the locker room with a game ball prepared to be given to interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who just recorded his first win. Instead, Brick Johnson took it upon himself to award a game ball to wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
Woody Johnson then gave Ulbrich the ball Rodgers had been holding. Multiple players said the energy felt drained out of the room. “It was the most awkward, cringe-worthy, brutal experience,” one player said.
Required reading
(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)