Jets’ Aaron Rodgers having second thoughts about wanting to return in 2025?

Things have not gone the way the Jets planned in 2024. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been good enough to lead the Jets out of the abyss. And the big names on the roster haven’t made a difference as the Jets started the season 3-7.
Rodgers, who turns 41 in less than a month, has said he wants to play in 2025. But Wednesday, as the Jets got ready to face the Colts on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS), Rodgers was asked directly: does the way this season has gone change his thoughts about wanting to come back in 2025?
“Not really,” Rodgers said. “Not for the negative. No. Not really?”
So he still wants to play in 2025?
“I think so,” Rodgers said. “Yeah.”
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That sounds pretty straightforward. But it’s far less resounding than what he said back in March, when he said he was hoping to play “two or three or four more years.” And he left a lot more room for interpretation than he did less than two weeks ago, when he brushed off a question asking if he’d thought about the possibility he was entering the final months of his career.
“No,” Rodgers said on Oct. 31. “It hasn’t.”
So what might have changed for Rodgers to add some wiggle room to his stance? He says nothing “for the negative” but the Jets’ uncertain situation certainly will play a factor in what comes next for Rodgers.
With the future of general manager Joe Douglas and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich likely hanging in the balance over the final seven games of the season, Rodgers could be in the awkward position of having to play for a new coach in a new offense after two decades in the league. That might not be appealing to him.
Also, there’s a chance that the new coach and GM wouldn’t want Rodgers, who has looked far from his former MVP self through the first 10 games of the season, completing 62.4% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
That’s why Rodgers comments about his future weren’t the most relevant part of what he had to say Wednesday. No, it was his resounding endorsement of interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, despite the Jets 1-4 record since Ulbrich took over for the fired Robert Saleh. Rodgers refuted the notion that the change to Ulbrich was a mistake, despite the team’s record.
“No, no, because I think that you’re looking at it in a strictly binary wins and losses terms,” Rodgers said. “ What Brick’s done, the way that we’ve practiced, I feel like there have been great changes. I feel like he’s done some really good things. I think Brick is an NFL head coach, whether it’s here, moving forward or down the line. I mean, he is a leader of men and I’ll stand by him.
“I’d love to play for him until the end, so I have a lot of love and respect for him. Listen, it was a tough decision because we all love Robert, but in the end, it’s decision way above all of our pay grades. I think everybody handled it pretty well and Brick’s done a really good job of trying to find ways to motivate the guys to keep them together because this could have gone south, I’m not just talking about wins and losses, from a personality, cohesion, standard, as far as guys just kind of splintering and breaking off.”
Again, one could read those comments as a straight endorsement of Ulbrich. But with Rodgers, there’s usually something at work beyond the surface. And in this case, there’s no denying that Rodgers is more likely to have a place with the Jets with Ulbrich still here than he is without Ulbrich still here.
So when Rodgers says his opinion about playing in 2025 has “not really” changed “for the negative,” it likely means he wants to stick around and try set things right and prove people wrong. That’s been Rodgers’ makeup since the beginning. But he’s hedging because the way things stand, he has to know he might not get that chance.
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Andy Vasquez may be reached at [email protected].