Madden trolls the Jets and bumps Jerry Jeudy's ratings following mind-boggling report

The New York Jets became media darlings when they acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers. The Jets were instantly proclaimed to be Super Bowl contenders, and the hype grew to a fever pitch after the team was highlighted by HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series.

In retrospect, the notion of Rodgers and Co. making a Super Bowl appearance is laughable. Nearly two years later, the Jets are barreling toward their 14th consecutive season without a postseason appearance, the longest active drought among all four major North American professional sports leagues.

Why have the Jets been so bad for so long? The blame, as it often does, lies with ownership. A mind-boggling report from The Athletic claimed that the Jets front office was finalizing a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the offseason, but Jets owner Woody Johnson vetoed the deal because the wide receiver’s player rating on “Madden NFL,” the EA Sports video game franchise, “wasn’t high enough.”

Madden took a jab at Woody Johnson after ridiculous Jerry Jeudy report

Although Johnson may hold “Madden” in high regard, the developers don’t appear to have the same affinity for him. The video game’s official social media account took a jab at the Jets after the report while announcing that Jeudy’s player ratings were upgraded after the report.

The post, which included a graphic that detailed Jeudy’s improved rating, was captioned, “RT if you would trade for Jeudy.”

Jeudy had an 83 overall rating in “Madden NFL 24,” which was the most recent edition of the game at the time. The best receiver on the Jets was wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who held an 84 overall rating.

Jeudy was traded to the Cleveland Browns, who signed the wideout to a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension before the season. Although Cleveland’s season hasn’t turned out as they hoped, he’s tallied 70 receptions for a career-high 1,052 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Johnson is the reason why Bill Belichick resigned as the team’s head coach during his introductory press conference in 2000, and it’s why no player or coach has been able to find any success with the franchise.