Jets owner reportedly nixed a trade for a wide receiver because of … Madden?
"The Broncos felt a deal was near. Then, abruptly, it all fell apart."
The New York Jets have been plagued by mediocrity and questionable personnel choices for over a decade.
But a new story from The Athletic shed even more light on the current missteps committed by Jets owner Woody Johnson.
While trades in the NFL can collapse due to hangups over draft picks, discrepancies in health reports and much more, Johnson carved out a new flawed approach as to why he didn’t want to swing a deal for a player.
According to Dianna Russini, Michael Silver, and Zack Rosenblatt, Johnson called off a trade for then-Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy last year due to … his ranking in the “Madden” video-game series?
“(Former Jets general manager Joe) Douglas and his Broncos counterpart, George Paton, were deep in negotiations for a trade that would have sent Jeudy to the Jets and given future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers another potential playmaker,” The Athletic wrote. “The Broncos felt a deal was near. Then, abruptly, it all fell apart.
“In Denver’s executive offices, they couldn’t believe the reason why. Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in ‘Madden NFL,’ the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources.”
The Browns apparently didn’t let Jeudy’s Madden rating deter them, with Cleveland acquiring him in March 2024 for a pair of fifth and sixth-round picks.
So far, Jeudy has already set career highs this season for Cleveland in both receptions (70) and receiving yards (1052) while reeling in four touchdowns.
Madden’s X account had some fun with The Athletic’s expose on Thursday evening, taking note of Jeudy’s overall rating in the series.
As bizarre as Johnson’s line of thinking was when it comes to evaluating Jeudy’s potential in New York, it seemingly wasn’t the only time that the Jets turned to “Madden” to grade a player.
“Another example came when Johnson pushed back on signing free-agent guard John Simpson due to a lackluster ‘awareness’ rating in Madden,” The Athletic wrote. “The Jets signed Simpson anyway, and he has had a solid season: Pro Football Focus currently has him graded as the eighth-best guard in the NFL.”
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