With the New York Jets season looking like a complete disaster, the next thing to consider is whether Aaron Rodgers should be the quarterback leading the team next season. Rodgers said he would be open to playing next season, but it's not certain if the Jets want that to be with them. With a $35 million option bonus coming, the Jets have just a few options for what they want to do with Rodgers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

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“Much will depend on the Jets' direction at head coach and general manager, now that Robert Saleh and Douglas are both out,” Fowler wrote. “Hard to say what the Jets will want or where they even start. As for Rodgers, escaping the contract is doable with a post-June 1 release, which would save $9.5 million in cap space. The Jets would absorb dead money regardless, but in return, they would be off the hook on the $35 million option bonus due before the 2025 season.

“Perhaps Rodgers, coming off a down season and regressing at 40 years old, would be willing to help the team via renegotiation. And he hasn't been terrible, with 17 touchdown passes to seven interceptions through 11 games. At least a handful of teams would take that right now. But clearly the experiment hasn't worked out. The Jets are only as good as their options, and those options are threefold: stick with Rodgers, go with a stop-gap option (Darnold, Fields, etc.) or select a QB high in the draft.”

Even if the Jets do decide to bring back Rodgers, they need to have another developed or young quarterback sitting behind him.

Jets considered benching Aaron Rodgers

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks for an open receiver as New York Jets offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (74) and other teammates try to protect him, Sunday, November 17, 2024, in East Rutherford.
© Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jets have not been very good this season, and it almost came to a point where general manager Woody Johnson tried to convince the coaching staff to bench Aaron Rodgers after their loss to the Denver Broncos, according to Jets reporter Zach Rosenblatt and insider Dianna Russini.

“The coaches and Douglas, stunned at the suggestion, talked him out of it and convinced Johnson to stay the course and that benching Rodgers, with his pedigree, four games into the season would not sit well with the locker room,” the article said. “The coaches also felt it would embarrass Rodgers. The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious — multiple sources from that meeting believed he was.”

Rodgers hasn't been bad this season, but he's noted that he could play better. The Jets have the skill players on offense to score a lot of points, but they've hardly been able to do that consistently this season, even with the addition of Davante Adams. There are a lot of things that need to change on the Jets this offseason, and the hope is that they can turn it around for next year.