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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, mired in one of the worst statistical seasons of his legendary career, wants to play in 2025.
“I think so, yeah,” he said Wednesday, 19 days shy of his 41st birthday.
It wasn’t a resounding yes, perhaps because he knows that organizational changes in the offseason could impact his decision.
Rodgers, who said last offseason that he hopes to play “two or three or four more years,” indicated the team’s disappointing season (3-7) hasn’t changed his feelings.
“Not really, not for the negative,” he said. “Not really, no.”
Rodgers, coming back from Achilles surgery, has battled hamstring, knee and ankle injuries, but he hasn’t missed any snaps due to injury. The four-time MVP, however, hasn’t played up to his usual level. He’s ranked 24th out of 32 qualified passers in Total QBR (52.0), with 15 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt.
“I’m not playing as well as I would’ve liked to play, for sure,” he said. “The beauty in this game is it’s a team game. The frustrating part is that if you’re a great competitor, you hold yourself to a standard that’s not unrealistic, and I haven’t reached that standard this year.”
Rodgers is under contract for 2025, but none of his compensation is guaranteed at this point. To bring him back, the Jets would have to exercise a $35 million option bonus. He also has a $2.5 million base salary. His cap charge would be a manageable $23.5 million.
Rodgers expressed optimism, saying “the verdict is still not out on this season yet.” The Jets, coming off a 31-6 drubbing by the Arizona Cardinals, face the Indianapolis Colts (4-6) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Jets are 1-4 since firing Robert Saleh and replacing him with Jeff Ulbrich as interim coach. Ulbrich, who doubles as the defensive coordinator, received a strong endorsement from Rodgers.
“I feel like he’s done some really good things,” Rodgers said. “I think Brick is an NFL head coach, whether it’s here moving forward or down the line. I mean, he’s a leader of men and I’ll stand by him. I’d love to play for him until the end. So have a lot of love and respect for him.”
Rodgers delivered a similar vote of confidence for Saleh late last season, and it carried a lot of weight with ownership, which retained Saleh after a second straight 7-10 finish. Part of the thinking was that the team, with a healthy Rodgers, would rebound strongly. That hasn’t happened, and now there could be a new coach and general manager in 2025.
Rodgers, 3-7 for the first time in his 20-year career, has been “100% supportive of this entire staff and this entire team in getting this thing fixed,” said Ulbrich, adding that Rodgers suggests “little tweaks here and there” about game planning and scheduling.
Ulbrich is taking a back-to-basics approach this week, calling for full-pads practices to improve the Jets’ shoddy tackling. They missed 20 tackles against the Cardinals, according to Next Gen Stats. He conducted a tackling presentation for the entire team on Wednesday, not just the defense.
He also made a change in the defensive lineup, benching safety Tony Adams this week, a source said. It’s a surprising move, considering Adams — a two-year starter — is the Jets’ third-leading tackler.
“We’re going to get back to fundamentals and basics,” Ulbrich said, adding, “That is something we can improve, and we will improve.” Rodgers applauded the approach.
“It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” he said. “Anytime you lose in general, but when you lose the way we’ve lost this year, I think you have to check the process … and if it’s not resulting in the performance that you want — and this is for all of us, myself included — then you have to make alterations.”
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