In recent weeks, 40-year-old veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers has continued to insist that he intends to keep playing next year for the 2025 NFL season, though this insistence has been fairly noncommittal. Even more uncertain appears to be where Rodgers would play next season should he return to the NFL. 
There’s a chance Rodgers won’t want to return. According to Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, “stability is believed to be the deciding factor on Rodgers returning for a third year with the Jets,” and New York has been anything but stable. Head coach Robert Saleh has already been fired, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett had his play-calling duties revoked, general manager Joe Douglas could find his job in jeopardy, as well, and owner Woody Johnson will go back to his duties as Ambassador to the U.K. after addressing the staff this offseason.
Now, the departure of Saleh and demotion of Hackett aren’t necessarily the indicators of instability that will chase Rodgers; in fact, they may have been a result of Rodgers’ wishes. Stability would really be defined by Douglas and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich remaining in place after this year. Rodgers has claimed that he would like to play for Ulbrich “until the end,” but as the Jets continue to reap the results of attempting to satisfy Rodgers, he may not have as much pull as he used to.
On the other side, Ulbrich has claimed that he “absolutely” wants Rodgers playing for him next season. That opinion only really matters, though, if Ulbrich is appointed the official head coaching job, striking “interim” off his job title. In the last 10 years, only three of 23 interim coaches have been hired as head coach for the following season. Neither Mike Mularkey nor Doug Marrone lasted long in Tennessee and Jacksonville, respectively, and Antonio Pierce is having a rough first full season in Las Vegas.
If Ulbrich isn’t hired to remain as the skipper, even if Rodgers wants to come back, the Jets may have other plans. With a new regime in place, the Jets may want to move on from a passer that would be turning 42 next season. With no guaranteed money left on the last remaining year of his deal, it would be fairly simple to move on from Rodgers financially.
Replacing Rodgers may not be the easiest thing to make happen, though. Currently, Sam Darnold and Russell Wilson are the only two full-time starters set to hit the free agent market following the season. While both are having resurgent seasons with new teams, Wilson is far-removed from his best seasons, and Darnold has never shown the upside that Rodgers has; not to mention that Darnold may not have the best taste in his mouth left over from his first stint with the Jets.
Other free agents like Justin Fields, Jacoby Brissett, Jameis Winston, and Mac Jones have starting experience and could serve as decent stopgaps, but only Fields has the upside to develop into a decent long-time starter. ESPN’s Rich Cimini notes that potential cap casualties like Derek Carr or Daniel Jones may become available, but they’re potential cuts for a reason.
The Jets would also have the option of taking a rookie passer in the draft. There are two issues with that plan, though. First, there’s no guarantee that the Jets end up in a position to take one of the draft’s top quarterbacks. Second, the 2025 draft class is lacking for top-end talent with only two quarterbacks seemingly solidifying themselves as first-round prospects up to this point.
Regardless, there are so many variables that will lead to the determination of both whether or not Rodgers will play next year and where he will play if he does return. He will be able to control what his deciding factors are, but ultimately, the decision may end up out of his hands.
I used to absolutely love watching Rodgers play. Now I can’t wait for him to retire, and it has nothing to do with his performance. I just don’t want to hear from him or about him any more.
Have you considered buying him a one way ticket to Egypt?
Fulfill the prophecy, Aaron! To Minnesota it is!
He has to send junk pics to a team employee first to unlock the final level.
Then welfare fraud to beat the final boss.
Rodgers? If we were to file a defamation lawsuit against you, could you provide proof in court because we love taking money from little doofus like you and then check back two months later and you’re taking your kids to McDonald’s every Thursday for visitation
“We”, so you and Aaron would be co-plantiffs then?
Eat fewer bath salts, my man.
Minnesota is doing great with the ex-Jet Sam Darnold. The man on the dark side must want the Vikings to sabotage their playoff push.
Man I hope we get another year of this circus….its just too much fun seeing the jets continuously being a dumpster fire.
They don’t need Rodgers for that lol
After the loss to the Colts — second time in a month the Jets have lost on a last-minute TD run — nobody’s job in Florham Park should be safe.
He should just retire, what team will actually want him? He looks cooked and is an ego maniac.
Giants will take a flyer on him next season I’m sure
I really hope it doesn’t happen but Mara is a meddling fool so it is a possibility.
An argument could be made that this version of Aaron Rodgers is worse than Daniel Jones. Rodgers has a QBR of 86.8, which is better than Jones’s 79.6; but Rodgers has always guarded his individual stats. Aaron looks washed. He’s also completely vaporized the chemistry and heart of that team, too.
Ah yes, if you just conveniently and completely ignore every measurable QB statistic Rodgers and Daniel Jones are the same. Riiiight
Jones is on the left, Rodgers is on the right
Completions 216/ 241
Attempts 341/ 380
Percentage 63.3/ 63.4
Yards 2,070/ 2,442
Yds/Att 6.1/ 6.4
TD 8/ 17
INT 7/ 7
Sacked 29/ 26
Rodgers has more touchdown passes, but you Jones also has 2 scores rushing. Please tell me what other “measureable” QB stats I’ve ignored, or show me where they’re vastly different.
Yes to this!
You don’t need a 40-something as QB1 when Tommy Cutlets is ready to go.
Stability Aaron Rodgers, Best Oxymoron have heard in long time. Will keep playing till no one will sign him. He needs to be in the spotlight.
The man is making $38 million/season for not retiring, on IT or not. As long as someone is willing to pay him this kind of cash, one cannot really blame Rodgers for showing up.
His skills are sliding enough this season, that he’ll probably quietly retire at the end of the season. He’s stacked enough cash. Quitting mid-season wouldn’t do his legacy any good.
Of course he might not be back. He might have a federal position in charge of bringing back mostly eradicated diseases.
RFK’s deputy secretary.
Do you want a clap for being a politically correct conformist? People clap for MBP QB’s, time for a major life adjustment if you want group praise.
You also might want to take a look at excess mortality for young people and co-index it with jab take-up.
Good lord, give it a rest.
The people have spoken. They have had enough of woke and woke clowns.
Do you know how silly you sound when you use woke as a noun? Go back to bed grandpa.
Simper on.
Funny how stability is supposed to be the deciding factor as to if Rodgers returns to NY; but if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll potentially uproot everything for a different situation. That’s the opposite of stability. I can’t imagine too many Jets fans would be shedding any tears if this clown took his circus elsewhere though.
It’s unfortunate however Rodgers must retire.
Aaron – from the bottom of my heart and sincerely as I can say, please keep playing.
Its a gift to the AFC East.
It’s not entirely his fault that the AFC East is sh!#astic this term.
He has certainly helped.
Yeah, but to be fair, the Jets are RIGHT THERE competing with two other sh!#astic AFC east teams.
There isn’t much separating them – except I can build an excuse for Miami.
Thats….something? Is it? IDK.
Woody and Joe:
Us Packers fans would like to thank you for taking the diva off our hands and submarining your future instead of ours. Most knew signing him to that hilariously bad contract in 2022 was the end. You bailed us out and helped us to find Love.
Thank you.
Pursuit of love – such a beautiful and noble endeavor.
If you are lucky enough to find love, don’t take it for granted. Cherish that.
Bears would’ve won with a FG at the gun but the Packers blocked it.
Proof that it’s not all about the QB.
@Bearmeat
DIva? you’re going to insult the man who had FOUR MVP’s and ring with the packers?
oh uh…Jordan love…leads the league in interceptions and really hasn’t done anything for the packers…sounds about right….
Yes. I’m going to insult the team killing donkey from 2015-end of his tenure in GB. Aaron Rodgers is perhaps the best thrower of the football ever. There is a reason he has only one title.
Love will be juuuuuuust fine. Young QB only in his 2nd year starting and his ceiling is unreal.
Not returning would be the best thing he’s done for the franchise.
Jets QB Winning Percentages:
Wilson: .354
Darnold: .342
Rodgers: .273
Change my mind
Theres more to a football team than QB. This is the best QB play we’ve seen since Fitzpatrick. For all the excuses yall made for Darnold and Wilson i find it real funny when we finally get competent QB play that its all the QBs fault, nevermind the fact that Greg cost 3 games by missing kicks and the defense has given up two game winning drives to bottom 5 QBs and needed to go back to the fundamentals of tackling mid season. Lets not think about that tho
Rodgers is playing behind probably the worst offensive line in NFL history. Completely immobile, yet somehow still nimble, he still finds , cement handed receivers open. Reads defenses like Einstein. Still got pop in his arm. Your beef should be with the inept front office.And I bleed Eagles Green my friend.
So, the dump Rodgers guys are out in full force because he has a down season. Coaches, co-ordinators, front office has nothing to do with the game, it’s all Rodgers. Oh, and I forgot about the other guys on the team, they bear no responsibility, it’s all the QB. Two years ago everyone was dancing and cheering because he was coming to town and now y’all are crying and bitching. It’s not all his fault, you had a lame duck coach, a team who has been beat down over the last twenty years, and fans who turn on someone as soon as he isn’t Superman. Now they’re playing with a different coach in the middle of the season and everything is in an uproar, the owner wants to run off to Great Britain, and yet Aaron is supposed to be just go out and win every week. How about you get a new head coach, a decent offensive coordinator and refresh the players with a good draft and let him play next year with some stability.
How about they clean house and everyone goes? Or do you think Rodgers is going to get better at age 42? GTFO.
Rodgers has been playing fine though. A 40 year old vet is what we wanted and what we got. This is the this level of QB play we wished we had in 22 or 23, only everything else has regressed tremendously. Guess its Aarons fault the defense made Anthony Richardson look like a All Pro QB tho, huh?
Yeah, that’s worked so well everywhere it’s happened. Haven’t the Jets tried that over and over and over. Worked every time, didn’t it?
Maybe you want to bring back Broadway Joe and the Sack Exchange. A few tweaks is what this team needs, not a complete dismantling. But you are entitled to your opinion.
Rodgers has been everything I expected; including the narcissist who can’t stfu and will crazy glue teammates to the tracks of the incoming train rather than take a smidge of accountability.
He’s a diva that will probably end up in a broadcast booth where he’ll challenge Aikman for the title of “Where’s My Mute Button”
There’s a zero percent chance Rodgers ends up in a booth so your ears are safe. He’s said it himself.
Agreed, I think a good coaching staff can take the players on this roster far. Theres just too much talent for me to want to see them blow it up again just for us to draft some kid who made a good throw in shorts and his #1 WR is Elijah Moore.
I also dont get where all the Rodgers hate comes from. I mean i do get it, the just regurgitate what the media’s salty opinions of him are. But if you actually listen to him talk at press conferences he’ll say its his fault he needs to get better everyone needs to get better and then theyll say he doesnt take accountability.. like what? Aaron is just a chill dude who plays football and people somehow act emotionally wounded about him. I dont get it
I’m neither a Jets fan nor a hater. But Rodgers has been bad in almost every way a QB can be bad, including going on vacation during training camp.
But as a NYer, I’d like him to stay. His actions are quite entertaining.
Much as I would enjoy bashing Rodgers, Eberlose is a much more entertaining target in Chicago right now. If there is a way to lose a football game that man can find it. I really haven’t heard ” Attention to detail” Thrown around to describe a Head Coach this much before. I thought that WAS the job. These are the things that are supposed to taken care of in training camp. It’s a tie as to who is the bigger joke. At least Rodgers was a winner. Eberlose is hopefully gone too.
From great local kid story to the worst vibes in football history. He’s just a douche canoe at every opportunity right now.
Please explain how you came to this conclusion when everyone whos ever worked with Rodgers has said good things about him. If he was such a problem in the locker room players wouldnt be flocking to join him.
Was that Brett Favre wearing a Jets jersey??