The question still remains about whether Aaron Rodgers will return as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback next season. But any question about whether he’ll be the starter next week has been settled.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich put speculation stemming from Rodgers’ shaky performance in Sunday’s 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks to rest on Monday when he told reporters: ‘We have great belief in Aaron. We think he gives us the best opportunity to win.’
Ulbrich didn’t sound quite as confident after Sunday’s game when asked if he was thinking about making a quarterback change when he responded, ‘Not as of today.’
Rodgers, who turns 41 today and has battled nagging injuries all season, isn’t helping his case on the field. He completed 21 of 39 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks, but threw a critical pick-six in the red zone that dramatically altered the complexion of the game.
Rodgers declined to answer questions about how he’d react to being benched for Sunday’s upcoming game at Miami, dismissing them as hypothetical.
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In clinching their ninth consecutive losing season, the Jets have already fired coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, leading to speculation that Rodgers wouldn’t return next year. However, he pushed back on speculation that he could retire or the team could cut him after this season ended.
‘I haven’t told anybody in my life that I want to play in 2025 and not on the Jets,’ Rodgers said last week during his appearance on ESPN’s ‘Pat McAfee Show.’ ‘That’s 100% false. I actually said the opposite. I said that I’m going to wait and see what happens at the end of the season and if they want me back.’
(This story has been updated with new information.)
