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Perhaps you’ve heard the New York Jets are struggling this season. The team is well on its way to missing the playoffs for the 15th straight year – the longest postseason drought in all professional sports. The Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was relieved of his play-calling duties, and general manager Joe Douglas became the latest casualty when he was fired after Week 11.
The Jets are looking to hire a new coach and GM for the 2025 season. And while quarterback Aaron Rodgers has influenced many of the organization’s moves over the last two years, the rapidly changing landscape in New York has created uncertainty surrounding the veteran passer.
Rodgers was recently asked if he would be involved in the Jets’ search for the all-important head coach and GM positions. “I’m always available if my opinion is wanted. But I’m going to focus on playing right now. If I get drawn into those conversations, fantastic. If I don’t, that’s fantastic too,” Rodgers said, per SNY Jets Videos on X.
Several revealing reports have surfaced since Douglas was shown the door. Perhaps the most preposterous incident that was exposed involved Jets’ owner Woody Johnson calling an all-hands meeting after the team’s Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos in which he advocated for Rodgers to be benched. This is after New York sunk a great deal of time, money, and draft capital into acquiring Rodgers in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers. The Jets were 2-2 at the time.
Saleh was fired the following week, so clearly, Johnson was determined to shake up the team. It didn’t work. New York is just 1-5 since Saleh was unceremoniously dumped, and the Jets' once dominant defense has regressed.
It’s been a long, strange season for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets
Still, despite reports of players being checked out and Rodgers being eager to end his relationship with the team, the four-time MVP appears open to returning to the Jets. He also plans to continue playing this season despite New York’s 3-8 record. And the feeling is mutual, as the Jets don’t plan on benching the future Hall of Famer.
Rodgers is having a remarkably similar season to his final year with the Packers in 2022. The season before he followed in the famous footsteps of Brett Lorenzo Favre and came to New York, Rodgers amassed 3,695 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Assuming he starts all 17 games this year and isn’t benched or cut by the Jets’ meddlesome owner, A-Rod is on pace for a nearly identical 3,770 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Even if things click down the stretch and Rodgers surpasses those estimates, it will almost certainly be the second-worst full season of his remarkable 20-year career. This is not the result the soon-to-be 41-year-old QB was envisioning when he exited his darkness retreat after the 2022 campaign.
The Jets will take on the Seattle Seahawks at home in Week 13. After back-to-back divisional wins, former New York quarterback Geno Smith has the 6-5 Seahawks in first place in a tight NFC West race.
