After Tuesday's workout, the Jets announced their four captains for the 2024 season as voted on by the players – QB Aaron Rodgers, LB C.J. Mosley, DL Quinnen Williams and P Thomas Morstead.
Rodgers, coming off a torn Achilles tendon he sustained four plays into his first season with the Jets, is a captain for the second straight year. Prior to being traded to New York in April 2023, Rodgers was voted a captain 12 times in 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
"[Rodgers] is just so great and so us, as competitors and athletes, we want to match that greatness," WR Garrett Wilson said during training camp. "We want to find a way to reach his level and he brings that out in us with just the way he is. He's the type of guy that makes you think at practice and it's good for us. It's not like that everywhere, it's not always like that with guys, so just knowing what he demands, he can make us all work really hard to reach that standard that has been set."
All-Pro LT Tyron Smith added: "You can feel the experience that he has when you're on the field with him. He definitely knows what he's doing. He makes everything a lot smoother and easier as you're going through everything. He is a big help and makes everything easy."
Mosley, the Selfless Warrior Award winner for the Jets last season, will be a captain for the fifth time with the Green & White. He was named the Jets' defensive captain in 2019, his first season with the team, and after opting out of the 2020 season, was named captain again in 2021, '22 and ''23.
Mosley, who turned 32 in June, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and is coming off another strong year, having led the Jets with 145 tackles paired with 5 tackles for loss, 7 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles. In the offseason, he agreed to a new two-year contract that provided the team with more salary cap space and flexibility to sign free agents.
"He's someone to back you up and is unbelievable," Williams said. "Having a leader like that in this organization and team helped me become a leader, he gave me the confidence to speak up when I need to speak up."
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich added: "There is no human within this game that works as hard as he does and is as consistent as he is and means as much to a defense as he does."
Williams, the Jets 2023 MVP, will be a captain for a second straight season. The two-time Pro Bowler, entering his sixth season, was made a captain following Rodgers' season-ending injury in Week 1. He went on to set the pace for one of the league's most prolific defenses, recording 5.5 sacks, 62 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 20 QB hits and 3 pass defenses.
"He's a dominant force inside," HC Robert Saleh said. "When he's playing at his best, he makes it easy for everybody to do their jobs, but not just that, he's the ultimate team guy, and is very coachable."
Morstead is a captain for the first time with Jets and the third time in his 15-year NFL career. Morstead, who donned the "C" in 2014 and '15 with the New Orleans Saints, will wear the patch once again after re-signing with the Green & White in March.
Morstead, 37, in 2023 led the league with 54 punts of 50-plus yards. In addition, he led the NFL with 99 punts, was second in punts downed inside the 20-yard line (36) and first for inside the 5- (6) and 10-yard (14) lines.
"You can't say enough good stuff about him," special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said last season. "And I've said in here a ton, I've always had the upmost respect for Thomas and the way he approaches the game and how he is in the locker room and how he is in our room."
