Aaron Rodgers arrived at the New York Jets with one intention – to win.
In April 2023, he signed with a franchise brimming with optimism thanks to 2022 rookies of the year Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, as well as promising running back Breece Hall.
The veteran quarterback, a Super Bowl winner and four-time NFL MVP with the Green Bay Packers, was seen as the last piece of the puzzle to ignite the Jets and break the longest current drought in professional American sport.
But it hasn’t quite worked out.
Rodgers’ first year in New York ended before it started with a torn Achilles four snaps in and that setback only served to ratchet up the pressure in 2024.
Unfortunately, 11 weeks into the season, the Jets are 3-7 and their hopes of making the postseason look all but over.
Head coach Robert Saleh was fired last month, but his replacement Jeff Ulbrich is yet to turn it around.
The trade for wide receiver Davante Adams – a close friend and former teammate of Rodgers with the Packers – was expected to spark the team into life.
But he has also made a slow start to life in New York, with just one touchdown and three defeats in his first four games.
With the Jets struggling once more – and looking a long way from reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2010 – Rodgers’ Hall of Fame career is in danger of fizzling out.
He was supposed to join the Jets for a year or two, guide them to a Super Bowl and ride off into the sunset.
That worked for other greats – Peyton Manning and Tom Brady – being the obvious names.
But it doesn’t seem to be going that way for Rodgers, which could open the door for him to walk away.
When he calls time on his legendary career, the 40-year-old will undoubtedly be honoured with a bust in the Hall of Fame, regardless of what else unfolds in New York.
The 10-time Pro Bowler has led the NFL in passing over four different seasons, and also threw the most touchdowns in both 2016 and 2020.
He ranks fifth in the all-time touchdown list, having thrown 490 to date, behind only Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Manning and Brett Favre.
Rodgers also ranks in the top 10 QBs for most completions and passing yards.
But this season, he hasn’t played up to his usual high level.
He’s ranked 24th out of 32 passers in Total Quarterback Rating (52.0), with 15 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt.
As he made his way off the field and back to the locker room after a 31-6 defeat to the high-flying Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, where he failed to find the end zone, he would have been forgiven for contemplating retirement.
Only time will tell if the second half of this season – and all the blood, sweat and tears that comes with it – will end in a miraculous turnaround, or go up in smoke.
But while there is a familiar cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Jets, veteran Rodgers has at least tried to steady the ship by suggesting he is open to play in 2025.
“I think so, yeah,” he said on Wednesday, 19 days ahead of his 41st birthday.
“I’m not playing as well as I would’ve liked to play, for sure.
“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.”
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