Aaron Rodgers has spent the last three months talking about returning to the Jets before the end of the season, but that push has apparently come to an end.
During a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said that he would be pushing to play if he was 100 percent but that he has not reached that point in his recovery from a torn Achilles. Rodgers intimated that there would be a conversation about playing without reaching that point if the Jets were still alive, but they were officially eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday and Rodgers has shifted his attention toward the future.
Rodgers said he thinks that future will see him playing for the Jets beyond the 2024 season.
“I don’t think so,” Rodgers said when asked if next season will be his final one. “I felt like when I came here that I got a renewed passion and love for the game. Everything has been amazing here. . . . I wanted at least two years. I feel like this year is kind of a lost year now that I only played a couple of snaps. Wasn’t able to go out there and prove what I’m capable of, what we’re capable of as a team. I don’t think next year will be my last year.”
Rodgers said he thinks the Jets need to “reload a little bit,” but that they have talented players on both sides of the field and that he’s a believer in head coach Robert Saleh, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and General Manager Joe Douglas.
“The night is always darkest before the dawn and we’re gonna rise again and it’s going to be exciting,” Rodgers said.
That rise was the hope for the 2023 Jets and it looks like they’ll be trying to do it all over again in 2024.