On Thursday night in Las Vegas, ahead of the annual NFL Honors awards show, Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke to reporters publicly for the first time since last March during the NFL annual meetings.

Johnson didn’t hide his emotions about Gang Green finishing 7-10 for the second consecutive year.

“They’ve seen me about as mad as I could be with what was going on with the offense particularly,” Johnson said. “We’ve got all this talent and we’ve got to deploy talent properly.

“I think they all got the message. We’ve got to produce this year. This is not a playoff mandate, but we have to do a lot better than seven wins.”

When Johnson met with reporters at the annual meetings last year, he didn’t give a playoff mandate to Douglas and Saleh. Eleven months later, it certainly sounds like he is giving one for 2024.

Douglas became the Jets general manager in 2019. Since then, the Jets have a 27-56 record.

Johnson hired Saleh two years later, but the franchise has remained mediocre. Gang Green is 18-33 with Saleh roaming the sidelines.

The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, the longest postseason drought in North American sports. Many expected that to change after the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Packers last April. However, Rodgers tore his Achilles four offensive plays into the Jets’ season opener against the Bills on Sept. 11 and he didn’t play again.

“What does it feel like having your arm chopped off,” Johnson said about Rodgers’ Achilles injury. “That’s about it.”

Following Rodgers’ injury, Douglas and Saleh backed Zach Wilson, who once again became the team’s starting quarterback. However, Wilson struggled just like he had the previous season. His final numbers were 2,271 yards passing, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60.1% of his passes in 11 starts.

That led to Wilson being benched for Tim Boyle before he returned under center after Boyle’s release. Wilson led the Jets to a 4-7 record before suffering a season-ending concussion.

After being selected second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson was once believed to be the Jets’ future franchise quarterback. But after throwing for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions in three seasons, the Jets are expected to trade Wilson this offseason.

“We need a backup quarterback,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have one last year.”

Their targets to upgrade their backup QB situation this offseason could include Ryan Tannehill of the Titans, Jacoby Brissett (Commanders), and Gardner Minshew (Colts), who will all be unrestricted free agents.

Gang Green will enter free agency with $4.9 million under the salary cap. However, the Jets have the ability to add close to $70 million with a few contract restructures.

Douglas and Saleh were both criticized for their decision to keep Wilson as the Jets’ starting QB. The only quarterback the Jets signed after Rodgers’ injury was Trevor Siemian, who started the final three games of the season.

During the last two years, the Jets offense has been one of worst units in the NFL. In 2022, Gang Green finished 25th in yards (318.2) and 29th in points per game (17.4).

The Jets and Mike LaFleur parted ways after the 2022 season, and Nathaniel Hackett was then hired as the team’s offensive coordinator. Somehow, the Jets offense was worse statistically last season. They finished 31st in yards and 29th in points per game (15.8).

Along with the quarterback position, the Jets’ offensive line has been a source of the team’s problems. Gang Green used 14 combinations in 17 games, leading the league.

Meanwhile, the Jets have fielded a top-five defensive unit for the last two seasons. That includes the 2023 season when Gang Green allowed 292.3 yards per game, which was third in the league.

“It has really been about the offense the last five years,” Johnson said. “The offense has to score to keep the defense off the field.

“We are developing a really good plan for free agency.”

If they can take care of the world’s best ‘football’ players when they play in New Jersey, they can do what’s best for the world’s best American football players, too.

FIFA announced on Sunday that MetLife Stadium will host eight matches during the 2026 World Cup tournament, headlined by the World Cup Final on July 19.

The turf pitch will be converted to grass for the World Cup games to meet FIFA’s standards. That costs money.

The stadium is using $400,000 in funds from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority — which owns the lease on the stadium’s land — to turn the field to grass for this summer’s Copa America games, per The Athletic.

Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, and Jets owner Woody Johnson, would have to foot a big bill to convert their surface to grass and maintain it.

But a slightly improved bottom line for billionaires and millionaires should not take priority over the safety of the players who bring those dollars in with their talents and hard work.

The NFL players’ union has called for all teams to switch permanently to grass in their stadiums, citing data that it makes the game safer. The league, naturally, occasionally finds its own selective data to push back.

Still, there is no regional argument for why a grass field couldn’t be maintained in New Jersey when the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders all play on grass in the Northeast already.

If it saved even one ACL or Achilles, it would be worth it.

Mara, to his credit, said last March that he hopes to move to grass permanently one day at the Giants’ and Jets’ home stadium.

“It would have to go down for the World Cup,” Mara said last March of grass at MetLife. “My hope is that we can get to a day some point in the future that we can have a grass field that we’re able to maintain with two different teams and all the other events. I think we can get there at some point. Maybe it’s a hybrid product or something.”

The Giants and Jets installed a new “monofilament” turf at last offseason in response to harsh criticism from the union and players around the league, including some of their own, about their previous “slit film” turf’s connection to frequent player injuries.

Players were included in the conversations about which new turf the teams should install, and the change represented progress. But players have still complained.

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud said after suffering a concussion in a road loss against the Jets that he “hit the back of my head” on the ground and it felt like “I damn near hit my head on cement, kind of. It was cold, and the turf I guess isn’t the best I’ve learned.”

At the old Giants Stadium, they once switched from the infamous AstroTurf to a grass tray system in 2000, but the field quality was still poor and that led to the installation of a different field turf in 2003.

More than 20 years have passed, though. There is a reason the best soccer players in the world play on grass only in the World Cup.

And frankly, when the NFL’s experts are traveling internationally for their collaborative summits with these international ‘football’ leagues and stadiums, they should be harnessing new knowledge on how to maintain grass back home as they do overseas.

The planned installation of grass for the 2026 World Cup is a reminder that they’ll put grass down in MetLife Stadium when provided with enough incentive.

So if they’ll do it for Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, Marcus Rashford and Jamal Musiala, they can do it for the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, the Jets’ Garrett Wilson and the NFL’s players, too.

I asked Saleh about those exact words last month, a day after the Jets finished 7-10 for the second consecutive season.

“I’ll leave that for you guys,” Saleh said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of frustration. We felt good about taking that next step this year.

“We’ve gotten better each year. Obviously, the record was the same as last year, but I guess I’ll leave it to you guys.”

Saleh clearly didn’t appreciate the question. Nor did he likely enjoy when I asked him if he was worried about his job status following the 34-13 loss to the Dolphins on Black Friday.

Little did I know, Saleh had already received word from owner Woody Johnson that he, general manager Joe Douglas, and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett would return for the 2024 season. Because they received a mulligan following Aaron Rodgers’ Week 1 Achilles tear, the pressure is on Saleh, Douglas, and Hackett to deliver this offseason.

A year ago, it was clear the Jets were willing to sell their souls to acquire Rodgers in a trade with the Packers by any means necessary and they eventually did. They catered to Rodgers, who was not yet on the team, by hiring Hackett to be their offensive coordinator after the Broncos fired him following his lone 4-11 season in 2022.

The Jets moved on from Mike LaFleur, hoping to improve their offense from 25th in yards (318.2 per game) and 29th in scoring (17.4). In 2023, Gang Green’s offense was somehow worse under Hackett after finishing 31st in yards (268.6) and 29th in points per game (15.8).

Douglas also gave wide receiver Allen Lazard a four-year, $44 million contract because they wanted Rodgers to have a familiar face to throw to. His signing was a complete disaster after he finished with 23 receptions for 311 yards and one touchdown. Lazard fell out of favor so much with the coaching staff that Saleh is already counting the days until the Jets can release Lazard.

“There are things that we all need to get better at, including him,” Saleh said after making Lazard inactive during the Nov. 24 loss to the Dolphins. “He is going to be here for the next year-and-a-half.”

In addition to Hackett and Lazard, the Jets also signed backup quarterback Tim Boyle and wide receiver Randall Cobb. Should the Jets continue to give Rodgers what he wants? Yes, but they have to spend their money cautiously this offseason.

Heading into free agency, which will begin on March 13, the Jets have $4.9 million of salary cap space. Obviously, to fill the team’s needs and sign their 2024 draft class, the Jets will need a lot more money than that.

According to Over the Cap, the Jets can have up to $79 million of salary cap spending with the maximum restructuring. That could restructuring the contracts of guard Laken Tomlinson (base salary of $12.6 million in 2024) and defensive end John Franklin-Myers ($13.3 million).

The Jets went all-in last season to acquire Rodgers. Now it’s put up or shut up time. During his three seasons with the Jets, Saleh has an 18-33 record.

The Jets haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. Not many regimes would be able to draft a quarterback [Zach Wilson] who was a bust at second overall in 2021, have three straight losing seasons and still keep their job.

Last week, the Jets and assistant general manager Rex Hogan mutually parted ways after five years. According to sources, Hogan’s departure came after the conclusion of the 2023 season. However, the news broke the week of the Senior Bowl.

That puts even more pressure on Saleh, Douglas, and Hackett because Hogan oversaw the college and pro scouting departments. Hogan also worked on personnel evaluations.

The Jets were dealt an unfortunate hand in 2023 by losing Rodgers for the entire season. But they also put all their eggs into the Rodgers’ basket, a luxury they will not have in 2024.

Saleh, Douglas, and Hackett can’t totally rely on a 40-year-old Rodgers coming off an Achilles injury to be the only spark for their offense. That’s why the Jets need to sign or draft another playmaking wide receiver.

Gang Green also needs to solidify an offensive line that’s seen more changes than the air fresheners in my house. More importantly, the Jets need a veteran backup in case Rodgers gets hurt again.

After the 2022 season-opening loss to the Ravens, Saleh said he was keeping receipts of people continuously mocking the Jets and would share them when “it’s all said and done.”

Saleh can keep all the receipts he wants, but the NFL is a results-based business. It remains to be seen if the Saleh/Jets marriage will work to this point.

Because of that, it’s playoffs or bust next year for the Jets regime.

Family representative Kenny Zore confirmed Caster died in his sleep at his home on Long Island, New York, on Friday morning after a long illness.

Caster, a second-round pick of the Jets in 1970 out of Jackson State, caught 322 passes for 5,515 yards and 45 touchdowns during his NFL career.

Caster spent his first eight seasons with New York and became a favorite target of Joe Namath. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Caster entered the league as a wide receiver who ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, but was later switched to tight end by coach Weeb Ewbank because of his combination of size and speed.

“The general approach from most teams defensively was to try to cover the tight end with a linebacker,” Caster recalled in an interview with the Jets’ website in 2018. “And I could outrun most linebackers or any linebacker that I ever ran into, really. But it was pretty much not a secret. ‘OK, let’s see how this matches up, if it holds up.’ It didn’t hold up.

“I ran away from most of the people that I had a chance to get away from. It was all around getting a good matchup.”

Caster made all three of his Pro Bowls with the Jets, with selections during the 1972, ‘74 and ’75 seasons. His 4,434 yards receiving with New York rank 10th on the franchise’s career list.

In Week 2 of the 1972 season, Caster caught three of Namath’s six touchdown passes and finished with six receptions for 204 yards in New York’s 44-34 victory over Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. Caster set career highs with 833 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns during that season. He had a personal-best 47 receptions in 1975.

Caster later played three years in Houston before splitting the 1981 season with New Orleans and Washington. He played in one game for the Washington team that won the Super Bowl to cap the 1982 season.

“I’m most proud of being able to play as long as I did, getting 13 years in the league during a period where the career average was a heck of a lot less than 13,” Caster told the Jets’ website. “When I came in, I think it was somewhere around two, 2 1/2 years. I was real proud of my ability to still have some talent where I was able to be traded and signed late in my career to bring some value to some teams.”

Caster is survived by his wife Susan; sons Richard J. Caster, Max Caster and Sean Caster; daughters Shannon Myla and Alona Nicole; and five grandchildren. Max is a professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling.

By Dennis Waszak Jr.

Now it’s fair to wonder where the Jets are going to be a year from now when it’s time to play Super Bowl 59, which will be No. 56 since they won the only Super Bowl in which they’ve ever played. That was when Joe Namath made the plays he had to make and Matt Snell played the game of his life and they shocked the world.

That was very much then, though. This is now. So, really, where WILL the Jets be in a year with not only the oldest quarterback in the league, a quarterback who will be 41 by then if he’s still standing, and one who will be coming back from a torn Achilles tendon?

You bet the Jets will be letting it ride on Aaron Rodgers the way they’d hoped to let it ride this year before Rodgers went down four plays into the season. He held the ball, which he does, and got hit and went down for the count. It was, of course, a calamity. But knowing what we know now about Joe Douglas’ offensive line, a line that currently has four holes to fill between now and the start of next season, what was shocking wasn’t that Rodgers got hurt, it was simply that it happened as quickly as it did.

When they do it again in September, Rodgers will be 40 going on 41. Now let’s look at the rest of the field in the NFL, and the ages of all the other important quarterbacks across the league:

Patrick Mahomes, who will start for the Chiefs next Sunday in Vegas, is 28.

Brock Purdy, the 49ers starter, is 24.

CJ Stroud is 22.

Justin Herbert, who just won Jim Harbaugh in the football lottery, is 25.

Jalen Hurts is 25.

Jordan Love, perhaps the Jets quarterback in another 15 years, is 25.

Josh Allen and Joe Burrow are both 27.

Tua Tagovailoa is 25.

Jared Goff is 29.

Dak Prescott is the geezer on this particular list at 30.

The only quarterback of consequence close to Rodgers’ age, unless you think the Browns are going to circle back to Joe Flacco next season with all the money they’re paying Deshaun Watson, is 35-year old Matthew Stafford. You can put Russell Wilson, who’s also 35 on this list if you want to, maybe when he makes his next stop. Just not now. We’ve all heard all the reasons why Sean Payton benched Wilson at the end of the season for Jarret Stidham. But he still benched him for Jarret Stidham.

If you are a Jets fan, and just read a terrific piece by Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini in The Athletic about dysfunction around the 2023 Jets that was sometimes almost Biblical, are you even sure that Rodgers will still be around next February? Or do you think next season will be Super Bowl-or-bust the way this one was supposed to be?

Or maybe, and more likely, the Jets will once again be looking for Rodgers’ replacement, after coming into this season apparently thinking the 39-going-on-40 Rodgers was going to be more durable than Eli Manning once was over in the Meadowlands.

And it’s not just Rodgers, the single most powerful figure in an organization for which he still has only played four snaps, and his future we need to be talking about. Is Joe Douglas, the front office guy who fell head-over-heels in love with Zach Wilson, still going to be the general manager in a year?

Is Nathaniel Hackett, whom only Rodgers seems to think is the greatest play-calling wingman in all of pro football history, still going to be the offensive coordinator? For now all we know about Hackett is that he seems to be the best offensive mind the Jets have had on the payroll since Adam Gase.

But maybe the best question of all is this one:

Who is going to be the HC of the NYJ in a year?

If you read The Athletic, you know how fixed Robert Saleh was on getting a vote of confidence from Woody Johnson as the season was winding down, despite the fact that his record as Jets coach was winding down to 18-33. Seriously, though, what happens next year, with Rodgers back on the field and Hackett calling the plays for him and most of that defense still intact, if the Jets start out 1-5? What will Douglas do then, if Douglas himself is allowed to survive a start like that?

If Saleh gets fired, who becomes the Rodgers-approved coach then — Hackett? You saw what happened to him when young Mr. Hackett was at the controls in Denver. He was 4-11 before he got fired, because that’s the kind of record that gets you fired, unless you work for Woody, that is. By the way? This is what the owner had to say when his team started out 1-5 this past season:

“I’ve been around for going on 22 years, with my little absence I’ve had recently, and this is a good group. We will get it right.”

You saw how that worked out. Somehow Rodgers’ injury gave everybody a hall pass (though Wilson probably would have thrown an incompletion on a hall pass if given the chance, and as much as I was rooting for the kid). So, almost everybody in charge except an assistant GM survived 7-10, even though having had a professional back-up quarterback in place might very well have turned that record right around.

People say: But Tom Brady played like a star after he was 40. He did. He wasn’t coming off the kind of injury that Rodgers suffered on opening night against the Bills. Rodgers himself says, “Give me your doubts.” Well, sign me up for that. To expect him to come back from that injury, at this age, and expect him to be the player he was even three years ago when he was winning his last MVP award is as crazy as his nutball theories about Dr. Fauci.

Rodgers’s presence here got everybody believing the Jets really were set up to make a Super Bowl run. Another nutball theory. Then he got everybody to believe he was going to come back and play in December. He didn’t. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s still the whole ballgame for the Jets who, if they didn’t have more holes on offense than a colander, are another Jersey team that ought to be thinking about drafting a quarterback.

These are your Jets, 55 years after Jan. 12, 1969. Where do you think they’ll be at the start of Super Bowl Week in New Orleans next February, when two more 20-something quarterbacks will be getting ready to face off in Super Bowl 59?

BRUNSON AND THE FEEL-GOOD KNICKS, ROOTING FOR DOC & KICK THE FIELD GOAL, DAN …

This is Jalen Brunson’s second season, but first making these Jalen Brunson’s Knicks.

Tom Thibodeau has been around for a while, and the Knicks did give us that surprise run to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference in 2021.

Julius Randle has been around a year longer than Mr. Thibs.

But what these Knicks are doing, in real time, the way they’ve played since the trade for OG Anunoby, feels very new.

It feels new in a way that the Knicks felt new when Pat Riley first got to town, and his Knicks ended up surprising us all by going seven games with Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

The Knicks felt like the only feel-good story in town then, and feel like one now.

And suddenly are as close as they are to the No. 2 in the conference.

The Boston College head football coach, Jeff Hafley, made the jump this week from my school to being defensive coordinator for the Packers.

Hafley won’t be the last college coach to make this kind of move.

He got into the transfer portal before the transfer portal got him.

Doc Rivers has always been one of the good guys, all the way back to when he was with the Hawks.

I first met him when he came to the Knicks, and have rooted for him ever since, and that’s why I hope he can figure things out in Milwaukee, where he played his college ball once for Marquette.

Red Sox fans worry that their owner, John Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group is now bigly involved with professional golf, has forgotten that there wouldn’t be a Fenway Sports Group if it weren’t for what his baseball team has done over the last 20 years or so.

Maybe now that Theo Epstein is with the FSG, he can get Henry’s eye back on the ball.

Meaning a baseball.

Nobody’s been doing Mike Breen any favors since the end of the last NBA season, but it doesn’t change the fact that there still isn’t a better play-by-play man, in any sport, than Breen is.

I love what Dan Campbell has done with the Lions and for the city of Detroit in the process.

But he should have at least kicked that field goal last Sunday when a field goal would have tied the game.

Speaking of Detroit:

Watch out for the Tigers this season in the AL Central.

I tell you this with pride, and as someone whom George Costanza once called his favorite sportswriter:

I can’t wait for Episode 1, Season 12 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Sunday night, just because there has never been anything quite like it on HBO, or anywhere else.

One more thing:

After my friend Mr. David’s hilarious appearance on “The Today Show” the other morning, I told him that I always believed he could take Elmo in a fair fight.

A possible solution could be an Oregon State Beaver who’s one of the best players in the nation.

Taliese Fuaga was better than advertised during this week’s Senior Bowl. How much would the Tacoma, Washington native-like to play with the Jets and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers?

“I couldn’t explain that,” Fuaga said. “I’ve seen Frank Gore and all of those guys, and I was amazed myself. Seeing Aaron Rodgers the man, I would honestly be speechless.”

The Jets need help on their offensive line in the worst way. Last season, Gang Green used 14 different offensive line combinations in 17 games. That included the influx at the tackle positions.

Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown were the starting tackles to begin the 2023 campaign. However, Brown injured his hip in Week 2 against the Cowboys and never started another game for the Jets.

That caused Becton to slide over from right tackle to left tackle for the rest of the season. However, the results were not great. He allowed 12 sacks and committed 18 penalties in 985 snaps.

Max Mitchell and Billy Turner also started games for the Jets at right tackle. Alijah Vera-Tucker is currently the Jets’ best offensive lineman but suffered a torn Achilles last October and missed the rest of the season. It was the second straight year Vera-Tucker suffered a season-ending injury (torn triceps in 2022).

Left guard Laken Tomlinson was the only player on the Jets offensive line to play every single snap in 2023.

“There’s definitely a league-wide pandemic with regards to offensive line injuries,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said last month. “I’ve been working on this for over a month and a half in terms of just trying to try to find the direction that we need to go.

“Continue to work on it over the next few months, but that is at the forefront of my mind. It’s at the forefront of everybody’s mind to keep those guys healthy.

“If the O-line is healthy, the quarterback will be healthy. If the quarterback’s healthy, we’ll all be healthy. It’s definitely something that we’re studying and we’ll get down to hopefully get an answer for.”

This week, Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is the coach of the Senior Bowl National Team. So, that means he is getting an up close and personal look at Fuaga. who is on Ulbrich’s team.

Before coming to Mobile this week, Fuaga was in California training for the NFL Combine, which will be in Indianapolis from Feb. 29 to March 3.

During Senior Bowl practices, Fuaga won just about every rep against some of the most talented defensive linemen in the nation. He showed incredible size and nastiness not only to be a starter at the NFL level but also to be an elite player.

At 6-foot-5 and 332 pounds, Fuaga is excellent in pass protection. But he is an even better run blocker with the athletic ability to reach the second level and maul defenders there.

“I would say my game is aggressive, sometimes too aggressive,” Fuaga said. “I like to set the tone sometimes and get the guys going.

“I think that’s one of the biggest things I like to bring to the table, just being aggressive.”

The Jets will select 10th in the 2023 NFL Draft. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu are two of the best tackles in the draft. But both players are projected to be off the board by the time the Jets pick.

Last year, the Jets were naive to believe Rodgers would solve all of their issues. Because of that, they thought Brown, 38, coming off shoulder surgery and Becton, coming off a significant knee injury, would be good enough to help them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Four plays into the season debut against the Bills, Rodgers tore his Achilles and ended any hopes of the Jets contending in the AFC. A year later, the offensive line has to be the top priority for the Jets, especially with 40-year-old Rodgers coming off a major injury.

That’s why selecting Fuaga, who started 25 games at Oregon State and received an 88.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, makes a lot of sense.

“He has size, strength, movement, and the mindset,” Ulbrich said about Fuaga. “Just sitting in the meeting rooms, it has been cool and get to know him in that way. He is an exceptional learner as well. He asks the right questions, he’s super engaged. You can tell he has a real love for this game. He’s one of those guys that I would love to make a Jet.”

The Jets and assistant general manager Rex Hogan have mutually agreed to part ways, according to sources.

Hogan has been with the organization since 2019, when he was hired to help general manager Joe Douglas with the day-to-day operations of the player personnel department. He also oversaw the college and pro scouting departments and worked on personnel evaluations.

Before his time with the Jets, Hogan spent two seasons (2017-18) as the vice president of player personnel with the Indianapolis Colts.

While the Jets had a banner draft in 2022 when they selected wide receiver Garrett Wilson, cornerback Sauce Gardner, running back Breece Hall and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, Gang Green has missed on several picks while Hogan and Douglas have been in charge of the front office.

In 2020, the Jets selected tackle Mekhi Becton 11th overall. He has started 16 games in four years due to multiple knee injuries. Becton also struggled on the field in 2023, allowing 12 sacks and committing 18 penalties. Becton will be an unrestricted free agent in March.

Then there’s quarterback Zach Wilson, who the Jets selected at No. 2 overall during the 2021 NFL Draft. He was expected to be the Jets’ franchise quarterback, but Wilson’s poor play was the reason behind the acquisition of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers last offseason.

In 34 games, Wilson has passed for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. He was supposed to be Gang Green’s backup quarterback in 2023, but Wilson started 11 games after Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the Jets’ season opener against the Bills on Sept. 11.

The Jets are expected to trade Wilson this offseason (2024 is the final year of his contract) instead of picking up his fifth-year option for 2025 at $23 million, fully guaranteed.

Gang Green also selected wide receivers Denzel Mims (2020) and Elijah Moore (2021), while Douglas and Hogan have been in the front office, but neither player is currently on the roster.

Douglas, Hogan and Jets coach Robert Saleh have received a lot of heat the last two years for fielding one of the worst offenses in the NFL. In 2022, the Jets finished 25th in yards (318.2) and 29th in points per game (17.4). Last season, Gang Green’s offense managed to be even worse. The team was next to last in yards (268.2) and 29th in points per game (15.8).

Meanwhile, the Jets defense has been one of the best in the league during that same span. In 2022, they finished fourth in yards (311.1) and points allowed (18.6). Gang Green ended the 2023 campaign third in yards (292.3) and 12th in points given up (20.9).

The Jets’ offensive line has also been an issue the last couple of seasons. In 2022, 11 different players made starts on the line. Last season, the Jets used 14 different offensive line combinations in 17 games, which led the league.

Gang Green is widely expected to select a tackle with the 10th selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Jets representatives are down in Mobile for the Senior Bowl this week.

Hogan spoke to reporters during last year’s Senior Bowl. Neither he nor Douglas were made available to reporters this week.

Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is coaching the Senior Bowl National Team.

“It’s a blast,” Ulbrich said Tuesday about coaching in the Senior Bowl. “I was saying to these guys earlier, you get so twisted up because you hear about college football all the time and just the environment that’s being created because of the NIL, because of the transfer portal and all that.

“You start to make some judgments based upon that about how these kids are going to respond to you. Then you get out here and they’re awesome. Nothing has changed, these kids are just as eager, just as hungry, just as respectful. Once we got out here with the kids, it’s been a blast.”

Despite having one of the top units the last two seasons, Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich not only wasn’t hired to fill one of those voids, but he didn’t receive a single interview.

This week, Ulbrich will finally have a chance to be a head coach at the 75th annual Senior Bowl.

“I wasn’t frustrated,” Ulbrich said about not getting selected for an interview. “I know how all of this works. It takes like a year to get your name out there.

“I always feel like things take like a year and then they talk about it and it gets the narrative going a little bit. If we play well again, who knows? My focus right now is winning a world championship with the New York Jets.”

Ulbrich became the Jets defensive coordinator in 2021 after Robert Saleh was hired as coach. In his first season overseeing the defense, Ulbrich’s unit finished 32nd in yards (397.6) and points allowed (29.6).

But in the last two years, the Jets fielded one of the best defenses in the NFL. In 2022, they finished fourth in yards (311.1) and points allowed (18.6). Ulbrich’s group followed that up in 2023 by ending the regular season third in yards (292.3) and 12th in points given up (20.9).

The Jets’ record during the last two seasons could have something to do with the lack of interest in Ulbrich. Gang Green has finished 7-10 each of the last two years.

“I think my superpower is not to pat my own back, I’m on my feet,” Ulbrich said. “I’m the defensive coordinator of the Jets. And I owe it to them, owe it to the organization, to the fan base, to Woody [Johnson], to Robert that they get the best version of me, and the best version of me is staying grounded and being focused on being a defensive coordinator.

“If that brings that opportunity, that’s beautiful. But if it doesn’t, I’m not holding my breath either because I love what I do and love where I’m doing it at.”

This week is a full circle moment for Ulbrich being back at the Senior Bowl. In 2000, the linebacker was selected to play in the Senior Bowl after being a two-year starter at Hawaii. His coaches during that Senior Bowl were Marty Schottenheimer and Gunther Cunningham, both known for their time with the Chiefs.

Ten years later, after his career was over with the 49ers, Ulbrich came to Mobile trying to get into coaching. There, he met then-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and was hired as the team’s assistant special teams coach.

“I never met him prior to this and it was his first staff and I got an opportunity to know him,” Ulbrich said about meeting Carroll. “This was the place that got me drafted in the third round, this was the place that got me my first coaching job, and it was really cool to be a part of this.”

Throughout this week, Ulbrich will work with college prospects during practices and coach them in Saturday’s Senior Bowl game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. This is the second time in three years Jets coaches worked with players at the Senior Bowl.

But instead of just being on the staff, Ulbrich will wear many hats. He is coaching the national team and also evaluating talent for the Jets.

“It is a chance to look at it from a different perspective, which is a global perspective,” Ulbrich said. “It is just amazing how many little things that I never thought of as a position coach or a coordinator that a head coach has to deal with, so many non-football things especially. It has been interesting from that standpoint. I think it is great from my standpoint for me to look at it from this lens.”

In the 2022 Senior Bowl, the Jets staff coached the national team. Gang Green eventually selected four players who participated in that Senior Bowl — edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (26th overall), tight end Jeremy Ruckert (101st), tackle Max Mitchell (111th), and defensive lineman Micheal Clemons (117th).

“When you go to the combine, you go to pro days, there’s a rehearsal element to that with all these prospects,” Ulbrich said. “That’s intentional, you’re trying to get drafted as high as they can, make as much money as they can and I get that.

“In this environment, you get way more of an authentic look at these guys because it’s football and it’s a football environment and it is more natural. They might initially try to put up a barrier, but eventually, you’re going to try to figure out who they are, which is really cool for both sides. I was telling these guys earlier that as much as you want to get drafted as high as possible, you also want to go to the place that’s the right fit. Not just from a skill set standpoint or a personality standpoint.”

Originally named an alternate, the pass-rushing linebacker on Tuesday made the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games as a replacement for injured Chargers star Khalil Mack.

It’s the first Pro Bowl selection for the second-year-pro Johnson, who recorded career highs with 7.5 sacks, 55 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits. He also registered his first NFL interception, which he returned for a touchdown, as well as his first forced fumble and fumble recovery.

“All glory to GOD,” Johnson wrote on social media after learning of his selection.

Johnson, a 2022 first-round pick out of Florida State, joins cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams as Jets headed to Sunday’s Pro Bowl Games.

The 25-year-old Johnson emerged as a full-time starter in 2023 after playing only 22% of the Jets’ defensive snaps during his rookie campaign.

Even after his breakout season, Johnson said the year was “not my standard” and that he planned to “work as hard as I’ve ever worked” this offseason.

“Every time I think I’ve reached it, I just keep pushing,” Johnson said this month of what he considers his standard. “I don’t know. I just keep pushing my limits, and by the time it’s all said and done, I know I would’ve done the best I could.”

Gardner, who was taken fourth overall in the same draft as Johnson, did not record an interception this season but excelled as a lockdown corner. He has now made the Pro Bowl and been named an All-Pro in both of his NFL seasons.

“I feel like I played at an elite level,” Gardner said earlier this month, calling the Pro Bowl selection “a true blessing.”

“Going against a lot of great talent and receivers and producing the way that I produced,” he said. “Of course, I wish I could have had more picks, but besides not having picks, I’ve been dominant this season.”

Williams, who recorded 5.5 sacks in 2023, has also made two consecutive Pro Bowls.

This year’s Pro Bowl Games, which will again center on a flag-football game and skills contests, is set to take place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, with Eli Manning coaching the NFC and Peyton Manning coaching the AFC. The Giants’ lone selection was defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Other alternates who were added Tuesday include the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and Darius Slay and the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Now it’s time to preview some defensive players who will be down in Mobile.

Gang Green finished the 2023 season third in total defense after allowing 292.3 yards per game. That improved from the 2022 season, in which the Jets were fourth in defensive yards allowed (311.1).

Despite having one of the best defenses in the NFL, the Jets have some holes to fill this offseason. Here are some of the players the Jets could keep an eye on at this year’s Senior Bowl.

T’VONDRE SWEAT, DT, Texas

The Jets’ rushing defense took a massive hit after Al Woods tore his Achilles in the Oct. 29 victory against the Giants and missed the rest of the season. With Woods being an impending free agent, Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat is a potential replacement at 6-4, 362 pounds.

Texas finished third (82.7 yards per game) in rushing defense last season and Sweat had a lot to do with that. He registered 45 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, and four passes defended.

Sweat is massive, and it is nearly impossible for offensive linemen to move consistently. He also moves well for a man his size and is a consistent disrupter in the backfield.

Sweat is one of the top 75 players available in the draft.

BRADEN FISKE, DT, Florida State

Braden Fiske is a different type of defensive tackle than Sweat. His play resembles Quinton Jefferson, who finished with 34 tackles and six sacks before suffering a season-ending injury in the Week 15 loss to the Dolphins.

At 6-3, 300 pounds, Fiske was a destructive player for a Florida State defense that finished 18th in points allowed (19.3). He recorded 43 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and six sacks for the Seminoles.

Fiske has the speed and versatility to line up in the defensive end spot and has experience playing from the three-technique spot between the guard and the tackle.

Versatility is enormous in Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s system. With him being the coach of the American Team at the Senior Bowl, don’t be surprised if Fiske is someone the Jets potentially target in the draft.

QUINYON MITCHELL, CB, Toledo

With Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, the Jets don’t need to find a starting cornerback. However, Michael Carter II will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2024 and the Jets could look to replace him.

Quinyon Mitchell has great size at 6-0 to be a nickel cornerback at the NFL level. He has the speed to cover receivers downfield while also having the strength to defend the run in the box.

For the Rockets, Mitchell recorded 41 tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception last season. Mitchell was one of the best cornerbacks at the Group of Five level and the Senior Bowl will be an excellent chance for him to line up against some of the best receivers in the nation.

KAMREN KINCHENS, S, Miami (FL)

Kinchens is arguably the best safety prospect in April’s draft. He is as versatile as any player in his position.

Kinchens can cover multiple types of receivers and running backs while having the range to play close to the line of scrimmage to help out in run defense.

During his junior season with the Hurricanes, Kinchens finished with 59 tackles and five interceptions. With Jordan Whitehead a free agent in March, Kinchens could be someone Ulbrich pays close attention to.

JAVON BULLARD, S, Georgia

Javon Bullard isn’t very big at 5-11 and 195 pounds, but he has the athletic ability and coverage skills that should translate at the NFL level.

Bullard is an intelligent safety with the instincts to play both the run and the pass well. He also knows how to bait quarterbacks to throw his way.

Last season, Bullard finished with 56 tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defended for the Bulldogs. He is an all-around safety who has the potential to be a mainstay on an NFL roster for the next decade.