EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The ritual began more than two months ago.
The night before each game, New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich chose a player or two and a coach to share their story — their “why.”
Roster members cycled through, staff following as well. But for 11 sessions, Aaron Rodgers didn’t speak.
The omission didn’t stem from a lack of interest on Ulbrich’s end nor a better-than-thou mentality from the Jets star quarterback. The wait was by design.
“I’d asked him earlier in the season, if he was thinking about me, if he could allow me to do it at the end,” Rodgers said Sunday night. “I just kind of wanted to talk to the guys about what the last two years have meant to me.”
Rodgers wanted one last guaranteed, uninterrupted chance to address his teammates and coaches. To thank them. Because the 40-year-old knows after Sunday night, he may not play another game for the Jets.
Aaron Rodgers on his NFL & Jets future: “I know I can still play. I know I can still do the things I need to do to be successful. It just comes down to the desire on their side and then ultimately my desire after I kind of take some time mentally & physically to rest and relax.” pic.twitter.com/kirnEhS9jD
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 6, 2025
A locker room of players juggling relief and joy did not deny the uncertainty that envelops their quarterback’s future. This Jets team is used to turnover. They know, after losing head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 and general manager Joe Douglas on Nov. 19, that no one’s future with the franchise is guaranteed.
Their futures in the NFL are not guaranteed.
That begins with Rodgers, whose four-touchdown performance Sunday was the exception rather than the rule during a 5-12 season. Beating the Miami Dolphins, 32-20, weeks after playoff elimination does not compensate for a lost season. The Jets knew that and nonetheless took a moment to appreciate the relationships that superseded disappointing results; to reflect on what worked before they returned to the consequences of all that didn’t.
Rodgers led that charge, from his Saturday night speech through a 274-yard performance in the season finale.
“There’s been a lot of special things that happened,” Rodgers said. “I would have had a big hole inside me that only these two years could have filled.”
How will he fill his next two?
A framework for considering Rodgers’ future
Two questions dictate Rodgers’ NFL future. Their combination leads him to uncharted territory.
The first: Will a Jets organization welcome back the quarterback who could not produce winning individual or team performance on a consistent basis this season?
Rodgers acknowledged he achieved his goal of starting all 17 games but fell short of his other target benchmarks. The Jets will weigh how much acute in-season injuries hampered his performance and how much his 40 years are simply catching up to it. A general manager and coach who did not sign Rodgers will see he completed 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as the Jets squandered a series of games in which they led in the fourth quarter.
They’ll wonder: In 2025, will he more reflect the 112.5 passer rating player who rebounded from a tipped interception on his first pass to throw four touchdowns in the season finale? Or will he more resemble the 20th-best player who posted a 90.5 season-long mark, his mobility fading for extended periods and his chemistry with receivers unreliable?
The decision likely will not belong to Ulbrich, who nonetheless weighed in
“He wanted to play 17 off an Achilles at 40-plus years old — that was a major part of his drive this year,” Ulbrich said. “Finally getting an opportunity to get healthy towards the end, we got to see that he can still play this game at a very, very high level.
“Whether he plays or not after this will be completely up to him because I’m sure he’ll have an opportunity.”
Which leads us to the second question: Does Rodgers want to keep playing?
The premise somewhat implies that Rodgers is capable. He, his teammates and his coaches publicly say they believe he is.
Even so, the four-time MVP has repeatedly said he wants time away from the game before he makes a decision. He wants to chart his territory with a clear head rather than charged emotions. He expects to meet with team owners Woody and Christopher Johnson soon and factor their interest level into his own.
“Either way, I won’t be upset or offended,” Rodgers said. “Whatever they decide to do, if they want to move on — if I still want to play. And if not, I’ll let them know at some point.”
Teammates believe Rodgers is more than capable of producing in 2025, tight end Tyler Conklin saying Rodgers has “unlimited gas in the tank.”
“As a competitor and the person he is, it’s probably gonna be hard for him to not want to keep playing, but we’ll see what happens,” Conklin said. “It’ll be interesting.”
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Rodgers’ Jet uncertainty is different from his Packers exit
The last time Rodgers reached an inflection point, he believed he had two options: play for an NFL team not named the Green Bay Packers, or retire.
Rodgers oscillated in 2022 which path to take. He was resolute that his time “was done in Green Bay” and his 18-year tenure drained him.
“I needed to figure out whether I still had a desire to play and whether I could get the love for the game back,” Rodgers said. “I have tremendous love for the game 1736145852 so I can’t say it feels anything like that. This feels much different.
“Just need to get away, and then also see what they’re into, what they’re thinking.”
Rodgers’ willingness to discern between the two seemed to indicate interest in playing again. That could change, but he lit up as he described his first touchdown of the game as “an old-school red-zone touchdown like we did for so long in Green Bay.” The undertone: His talent can still threaten.
And rather than shoot down hypotheticals, Rodgers entertained what he would do if the Jets move on but he still itches to play.
“Would I be willing to play for another team?” Rodgers considered. “The answer is yes.”
His Saturday night speech hinted at why. Sure, statistical milestones loom: Rodgers became the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 touchdowns on Sunday, and at 503 is within reach of Brett Favre’s 508 and Peyton Manning’s 539. Another Lombardi Trophy will always be tempting.
But Rodgers didn’t trumpet winning or records in his remarks. He spoke about relationships — the connection he knows he won’t be able to replicate when he hangs up his cleats.
That’s why Rodgers walked off Lambeau Field with close friend Randall Cobb after his final Packers game two years ago, and it’s why Davante Adams — Rodgers’ best friend still playing, after Cobb retired — escorted him off the turf this time. Cobb flew in for what could be the last page of Rodgers’ Jets chapter.
Expect that appreciation for the humanity in the NFL to factor into Rodgers’ decision right alongside his desire to prove to doubters that he can play in his 40s and prove to himself that his four-touchdown season finale can again be baseline rather than mirage.
“I think the big thing that he always said from the get-go, and he talked to us last night [about was] however long you play this game or whatever situation you’re in, if you don’t leave with relationships, then you’re missing out on something, because this game is about relationships,” Conklin told Yahoo Sports. “It’s about bonds and it’s about friendships and going to war together and going through hard stuff together and helping feed each other’s families.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but that’s the thing that he prioritizes over everything, right? It’s his relationships and the relationships he’s built. I think that’s special.
“Especially with everything he’s done in his career, to prioritize relationships over everything he’s done is pretty cool. It says a lot about him.”
