![New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks on before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://empiresportsmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Syndication-Florida-Times-Union-25000399.jpg)
It’s been a lost season for the New York Jets who entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations and spent Sunday battling the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars for the inside track at the number one overall pick. A lot has gone wrong for the Jets who fired their head coach in early October and their general manager a little over a month later.
Aside from the turmoil at the top, a lot of the struggles were placed firmly on the shoulders of future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers who went from savior to villain in the span of just a few weeks, and who looked like he was heading for a messy divorce from the team in the offseason.
Could the Jets run it back with Aaron Rodgers in 2025?
Three paths exist for the Jets to try and fix their franchise. Re-tool the roster around the talented young core of Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Sauce Gardner, and others with a new quarterback under center; blow up that core and embrace a total rebuild as their paydays are nearing; or run it back for another year with Rodgers under center, which until recently seemed the least likely.
However, Rodgers followed up his first 300-yard performance in nearly two years against the Miami Dolphins with a 289-yard, three-touchdown, and zero-interception magic show against Jacksonville to pull out a win and move the Jets to 4-10 on the season.
Is Rodgers back to an elite level after recovering from injuries?
Rodgers has dealt with a variety of injuries this season, the severity of which may have been more than what was immediately reported including a torn hamstring. He’s spent most of the season listed on the injury report despite playing through the pain, and his play has taken off since he was removed from the injury report three weeks ago.
This then begs the question, are these short-term injuries and not age and decline the reason for the underwhelming performance we’ve seen from him this season? And if so, is it reasonable to assume that he can in fact perform at a near-elite level for the Jets in 2025?
There are no easy answers to these questions. In this two-game sample, it certainly seems like it was the injuries and not the decline that caused his dip in performance. However, that leads to another question – Rodgers just turned 41 on December 2nd – at his age are these injuries a one-off or simply a fact of life?
Age limits the body’s ability to recover and makes one more susceptible to getting hurt in the first place. So while injuries might be the explanation it’s no certainty that he’ll be able to stay healthy and prevent these nagging injuries moving forward.
The decision-makers aren’t yet in place
As the fan opinion begins to shift and the calls to run it back with Rodgers grow louder, it’s important to remember that the people who will ultimately make that decision are not yet in place. The Jets have been exploring all options for their next general manager, starting with candidates who are not currently employed by an NFL team.
First completing an interview with former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the Jets completed another interview with former Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson yesterday. SNY’s Connor Hughes has also reported that former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is the coaching candidate the Jets most covet.
The Jets already have a couple of links to the Titans in the organization. Both running game coordinator and offensive line coach Keith Carter, as well as passing game coordinator and offensive play caller Todd Downing came to the Jets from Tennessee. Downing in particular served as Vrabel’s offensive coordinator for two years from 2021 to 2022.
Those links could mean two things. First, there’s a chance that Downing and/or Carter could stick around if Vrabel and/or Robinson end up landing these jobs. Second, Vrabel and Robinson may value their opinion, especially that of Downing, as to whether or not to keep Rodgers in the fold in 2025.
Whomever the Jets hire for these vacancies will likely be in agreement on how to proceed with Rodgers, and will likely only take the job knowing the status of the veteran quarterback’s wishes to play another season in green and white. For Rodgers, the next three games to close out the season will go a long way to providing clarity as to his ability to captain the offense next season.
