Rodgers maintains desire to play next year, endorses Ulbrich as Jets coach

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers’ stint with the New York Jets could still extend beyond this season – despite plenty of losses and disappointments.

The star quarterback, who’ll turn 41 on Dec. 2, previously said he’d like to play a few more years. And he insisted Wednesday that the Jets’ 3-7 start during a tumultuous season has not changed that stance.

“Not really,” Rodgers said in the locker room after practice. “Not for the negative, no. Not really.”

Rodgers was then asked by a reporter if he still wants to play next year.

“I think so, yeah,” the four-time NFL MVP said while nodding.

Rodgers’ future beyond this season has come into question in recent weeks, particularly because of his mediocre play during the worst start of his 20-year career.

He has one year left on his contract that includes $2.5 million in non-guaranteed base salary with $21 million in bonuses. He would count $23.5 million against the salary cap next season. But if the Jets cut Rodgers before June 1 next year, they’d incur a $49 million dead money charge; it would be $14 million after June 1.

He got off to a slow start in his return from a torn left Achilles tendon that sidelined him for all but four snaps last season. Rodgers showed some flashes of the player he was in his prime, including in victories over New England in Week 3 and Houston in Week 9, but he followed that performance against the Texans with a dud in a 31-6 loss to Arizona. He was 22 of 35 for just 151 yards, completing just one pass through the air of 10 yards or longer.

Rodgers has also dealt with ankle, knee and hamstring issues that have visibly sapped him of some of the mobility that helped make him such a threat as a young quarterback.

“I mean, I’m not playing as well as I would like 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 and it’s not unrealistic.

“And I haven’t reached that standard this year.”

When Rodgers was traded to the Jets in April 2023, Super Bowl aspirations – and expectations – followed. His injury in the season opener ended those hopes last year, but the optimism was back during this past offseason and training camp.

A 2-3 start got Robert Saleh fired by owner Woody Johnson and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich took over on an interim basis. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Rodgers’ buddy from their days together in Green Bay, was demoted as the primary play caller with passing game coordinator Todd Downing assuming those duties. The Jets also traded last month for wide receiver Davante Adams, who was Rodgers’ teammate for eight seasons with the Packers.

Still, the team has struggled, going 1-4 under Ulbrich heading into its game Sunday against Indianapolis. The “spark” Johnson believed would be caused by firing Saleh has not translated into better play on the field.

“I think that you’re looking at it in strictly binary wins and losses terms,” Rodgers said. “What Brick’s done, the way that we practice, I feel like there has been great changes. I feel like he’s done some really good things. I think Brick is an NFL head coach, whether it’s here moving forward or down the line. I mean, he is a leader of men and I’ll stand by him.

“I’d love to play for him until the end. So I have a lot of love and respect for him.”

Rodgers reiterated Saleh’s firing was tough for everyone “because we all love Robert,” but it was not the players’ decision. And Rodgers thinks everyone has handled the adversity well.

“And Brick’s done a really good job of trying to find ways to motivate the guys to keep them together,” he said. “Because this could have gone south, and I’m not just talking about wins and losses – from a personality, cohesion, standard as far as guys just kind of splintering and breaking off.”

Rodgers preached “hope” to Jets fans and said anything could happen over the final seven games.

Still, he acknowledged he hasn’t been the dynamic playmaker the Jets hoped he’d be.

“Health obviously has been a big challenge for me,” Rodgers said when asked to assess what the toughest aspects have been since coming to New York. “The other parts, there’s intangible things, for sure. There’s guys that you get to know that you don’t know. You know, you haven’t been around. There’s obviously (the) system, trying to get on the same page. And there’s personalities that you’ve got to get to know. You learn you can push certain guys and you’ve got to pat certain guys. That’s part of the process.

“It’s been actually a really beautiful couple of years for me in totality. But it’s obviously been frustrating with the football part.”

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