Aaron Rodgers now has great Jets blindside bodyguard he needs

This time, it is a future first-ballot Hall of Fame left tackle who will be protecting the crown jewel, the future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback. 

And because the future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback is back with a 40-year-old Achilles that betrayed him last season, Tyron Smith becomes the Most Indispensable Jet not named Aaron Rodgers. 

Joe Namath is forever grateful to his late Hall of Fame LT Winston Hill for keeping him standing tall enough en route to the Jets’ Super Bowl III championship and beyond. 

“He personally saved my life many, many times,” Namath said once. 

And he also said this: “I don’t remember Winston ever getting beat by someone. He never let us down. Winston was The Man.” 

D’Brickashaw Ferguson was The Man on the blindside for a decade. Mekhi Becton was not The Man. Duane Brown was not The Man. 

Tyron Smith, following 13 years in Dallas, is The Man. 

“Tyron still has it. I mean, he’s a stud,” Rodgers told NFL Network on Saturday. 

Smith welcomes the responsibility of keeping Rodgers upright and out of harm’s way. 

“I love it,” he said. “It’s a challenge. It’s not gonna be fun without a challenge.” 

The biggest challenge for Smith has been staying on the field. He hasn’t played a full season since 2015 and has missed 37 games over the past four years with a smorgasbord of neck, back, knee, ankle, hamstring and elbow injuries. But when asked if he feels as good as he has felt in a long time, he said: “Yeah. Just gotta maintain it, stay healthy, stay in shape so I can be ready for my teammates.” 

The Jets, ranked 30th last season in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus, signed Smith to a one-year deal potentially worth as much as $20 million because he is an eight-time Pro Bowler. He is a 6-foot-5, 320-pound prototype who still considers himself dominant. 

“He’s just got a reputation of being an elite athlete and human,” Robert Saleh said. 

Rodgers has been thrilled with the maturity and depth of the bolstered offensive line. Smith isn’t a rah-rah type, but when he talks, young tackles like Olu Fashanu listen. And when he blocks … 

“Other than that he’s just a crazy talent, got huge hands, too … it’s just his footwork. His footwork from his feet to his punch, you can just tell he’s been doing this for a very long time,” Alijah Vera-Tucker said. “So whenever you see something like that, it makes you want to reach that level.” 

The future first-ballot Hall of Fame left tackle has never blocked for a future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback. 

“It’s fun,” Smith said. “You could feel the experience being on the field with him. Definitely knows what he’s doing, and makes everything a lot smoother as you’re going through everything.” 

It is Smith who will be instrumental in giving Rodgers the chance to launch the nuclear weapon named Garrett Wilson. 

“He’s just so dynamic, because he can go from zero to full speed so quickly, and he can look like he’s just kinda gliding out there, but he’s moving so fast,” Rodgers told NFL Network. “It’s a gift. If we can get him to figure out just the little minute details, things are gonna take off. 

“He is as dynamic as I’ve ever been around.” 

It is Smith who will be instrumental in giving Breece Hall the chance to be knocking on Christian McCaffrey’s elite door. 

“Breece pulled me aside today and he said, ‘Man, I really like the run game right now,’ ” Rodgers told NFL Network. 

Rodgers congratulated his Packers successor Jordan Love on his new four-year, $220 million extension with $155M guaranteed, tying Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence as $55M Men. Love became the eighth quarterback with a deal averaging over $50M annually. 

“Don’t spend it all on one place,” Rodgers told NFL Network, “but if you do, I still have a house in Green Bay that’s up for sale.” 

At $37.5 million, the Jets should be giddy that Rodgers’ average annual salary suddenly qualifies as bargain basement. Just another “slight” that Rodgers, who wants to play in 2025, can use as motivation. 

“Once everything’s connected,” Smith said, “I feel like we got potential to be something great.” 

The Jets experienced it an eternity ago: A great left tackle keeping a great quarterback upright.