Aaron

Rodgers

While that would explain a lot, and Glazer reports that it “raised him up a lot in the eyes of his teammates,” Rodgers hasn’t exactly played well through the injuries. The first 300-yard outing since 2021 that he posted against Miami on Sunday is a good first step towards showing that he can still hack it at an advanced age. The context of playing through those injuries isn’t exactly helping the idea that Rodgers might simply not be a quarterback you can rely on as a starter in 2025.

It was the first time in three years Rodgers has gone over the 300-yard mark. He did so in an unusually pass-heavy script for the Jets, who were without lead back Breece Hall (knee). Rodgers was finally on the same page with Garrett Wilson in this one. Wilson led the Jets with 114 yards on seven grabs while Davante Adams led the team with 11 targets. Rodgers came into this game with four touchdowns over his past two games. He’ll have a prime matchup in Week 15 against the lifeless Jacksonville defense.

Rapoport also said that Rodgers, who he called a bridge quarterback, needs to play better over the final month of the season to be on the roster for next year. It sounds like harsh analysis from Rap, but he’s right on all fronts. Rodgers is averaging a dreadful 6.3 yards per attempt and has a modest 19 touchdowns through a dozen games. At 3-9, the Jets are not even in the playoff conversation with five games left to go. The Jets parted ways with both their head coach and general manager this season. A new brain trust will almost certainly want to start over at quarterback, making it a long-shot that the team runs it back with Rodgers next year.

Ulbrich was asked if Rodgers’ status as the Jets’ QB1 was on a week-to-week basis, to which he said, “No, he’s our quarterback.” We shouldn’t expect Ulbrich to say anything different. This is, after all, Aaron Rodgers, who we are talking about here. Regardless of what Ulbrich says, there’s little reason to believe Rodgers is locked in as the Jets’ starter for the team’s final five games of the season. The Jets are 3-9, and a significant portion of the blame has justifiably fallen on the veteran quarterback’s performance. Barring an unexpected change, Rodgers will get the start in Week 14 against the Dolphins, but this is situation is probably more week-to-week than Ulbrich will ever admit.

The struggles continue to mount for Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, who turns 41 tomorrow, threw for 185-2-1 in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, with his interception resulting in a 92-yard pick-six to defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Rodgers has now gone three straight games without hitting 200 passing yards, and completed less than 60 percent of his passes for the third time this season. Sitting on a 3-9 record, there’s little reason to continue starting Rodgers, who has been rumored to be dealing with a myriad of minor injuries despite his attempt to downplay them. Ulbrich didn’t exactly rule out the possibility of Tyrod Taylor making the start in Week 14 against the Dolphins, so we’ll see if a QB change comes later in the week.

Gifted a 21-7 early second quarter lead thanks to a cascading series of Seahawks special teams miscues, Rodgers proceeded to have his least inspiring start yet. Rodgers kept missing a wide-open Garrett Wilson for big plays, including a should-have-been second quarter touchdown. He then threw a 92-yard pick-six to a defensive tackle the very next play. Rodgers offered nothing as the Jets slowly bled their two-touchdown lead, mustering all of 95 scoreless yards after the break. Moving poorly and somehow throwing even worse, Rodgers still has “arm strength,” but he is rarely positioned well enough to take advantage of it. He might be doing well if this were flag football, alas, it’s the NFL and he’s supposed to face the Dolphins on the road in Week 14. At 3-9 with their season over, the Jets could move on from Rodgers as starter at any given moment.

There are several moving parts in New York outside of Rodgers. The Jets will be filling vacancies at head coach and general manager after firing Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas this season. The new brain trust will ultimately determine if Rodgers is back with the team next year. Rodgers has no guaranteed money left on his deal, but cutting him would leave the Jets with a $49 million dead cap hit. Still, a new staff will likely want a fresh start at quarterback instead of a 41-year-old passer in what could be his final season, making the dead cap charge a cost of doing business.

Rodgers likely won’t have much say in the matter with the Jets as the team’s new general manager and head coach will be given the keys to do what they want at the quarterback position. The idea that Rodgers could retire is also an unsurprising flag to raise given the punishment his 40-year-old body has taken this year, as well as his need to feel like he has agency in his future destination. We’re genuinely curious at this point if any team would want to have Rodgers as a stopgap in 2025.

Ian Rapoport reported over the weekend that it was “unclear” how banged up Rodgers is because he has “resisted getting scans done, not wanting to reveal the severity of his injuries out of fear of having to come off the field.” Ulbrich said Rogers is “healthier than he was earlier in the season” and that the idea of him skipping medical scans was “news to me.” Cool situation we’ve got going here. With the Jets continuing to self-combust, we probably don’t have to watch many more games of Rodgers, the only question at this point is when the plug will be pulled.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported on Saturday that Rodgers wants to play in 2025 but for a different team. Previous reports have carried the same sentiment. The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh early in the season and just canned GM Joe Douglas, meaning it’s a page one rewrite for the franchise in the offseason. Rodgers, soon to be 41 years old, isn’t long for this league and a new staff will want to start from scratch with a quarterback of their choice. Still, the fact that someone is trying to change the narrative of Rodgers’ relationship with Johnson leaves the light on for him to play one more season in New York.