At age 42, Aaron Rodgers is steps away from taking the Pittsburgh Steelers to the AFC North title.
So, how do you feel about that, Jets’ fans? Remember when Rodgers was the missing piece to a Super Bowl run?
He still was the best quarterback play we saw over the last two years, and probably the last 15 since Mark Sanchez and arguably Ryan Fitzpatrick. Sam Darnold never hit his stride like he did and has with the Vikings and Seahawks.
There were plenty of Green and White fans who wanted Rodgers back. There also was the faction – led by the front office – who had seen enough of him. Rodgers’ ego got in the way of many, primarily Garrett Wilson, who felt like the second option behind Davante Adams.
The Jets’ offense would have been on an uptick rather than a weak heartbeat.
Rookie Brady Cook likely will be back under center again Sunday when the Jets try to survive against the New England Patriots in their home finale.
Justin Fields was officially done for the season Tuesday when the Jets placed him on the injured list with a bad knee. Tyrod Taylor will be the backup, and he likely will see some time in the second half when the game is too far out of reach.
Fields’ $40 million dollar experiment – he received $30 million guaranteed – is over, and ironically Fields had his best game against Rodgers in the season opener that he nearly pulled out.
On the other hand, Rodgers has shown some flashes of his old Packers’ MVP days, he can be dangerous to face in the postseason if he continues his level of play over the past six games. By the way, the Steelers have won five of their last six games mainly because of him.
If Rodgers had stayed, would the Jets be in a better situation?
However, that’s simply is an unlikely scenario because Woody Johnson and Aaron Glenn didn’t want him around anymore.
Yet if the roles were changed, Rodgers along with the also jettisoned Adams could have guided the Jets to five or more wins.
The Jets wouldn’t have been in the top three draft positions they are now, and would have to do some heavy dealing to get to one of the top three spots, That’s like the case since they apparently covet Indiana’s Mendoza as their next franchise quarterback.
The question then would circle around Rodgers to see if he still has enough left in the tank for another year. Pittsburgh will have to deal with that at the end of their season.
At least with Rodgers, the Jets would have had a respectable offense even with a handful of receivers most Jets’ fans can name more than one in 10 seconds.
He would have made football intriguing instead of it being in the current stage of life support.
Rodgers would have been a caddy to the franchise quarterback, but he did try to mentor Zach Wilson.
For Rodgers, it came down to ego and money.
Glenn didn’t want him, the Jets were better off financially releasing him and taking a dead cap hit of $14 million this season and $35 million in 2026.
With his age, Rodgers obviously wasn’t in the team’s long-range plans, but now the Jets may be faced with trading up to get the quarterback, or sign a bridge quarterback and draft their franchise quarterback next year – see Arch Manning.
Mac Jones, Kurt Cousins, Kyler Murray can be good fits, and Marcus Mariota, Mitchell Trubisky, and Kenny Pickett will be among the free agents. Taylor seems like the obvious choice to bring back, but he can’t stay healthy.
Remember a few years ago when Cousins was viewed as the Jets’ possible solution at quarterback? Cousins probably will be too pricey with his $57.5 million cap hit in 2026 unless the Jets can work out a deal.
Hey, Wilson will be a free agent. Do you want him back?
Overall, the Rodgers experiment didn’t work, as he didn’t take the Jets to the Promised Land they have been seeking for the past 56 years.
Aside from some bad football, the next two weeks will be interesting to see where and how the Jets will land in the draft picture and then navigate from there.
In 2024, Rodgers was anointed the Jets quarterback savior. A year later, he’s taking the Steelers to the playoffs, and he may defy the odds and come back next year.
For the Jets, the search for the quarterback savior since Joe Namath will take on another year.
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