Aaron Rodgers on if 2024 will be his final season: 'I don't think so'
Aaron Rodgers might’ve had a two-year plan with the New York Jets to finish his career. But it seems like that might extend after missing the current campaign.
Rodgers played just four snaps in the season opener before tearing his Achilles. His fast recovery has been well documented and he mentioned how he could’ve returned this weekend if the Jets were in the playoff race.
Whether the timeline would’ve been pushed to Christmas Eve or not, many expected Rodgers to conclude his Hall of Fame career in 2024. Now, he might stay a little longer.
“I don’t think so,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I felt like when I came here that I got kind of a renewed passionate love for the game. And everything has been amazing here. Just the people I’ve gotten to work with, the relationships I’ve gotten to form with my teammates and the amazing men and women at work here …
“At least two years, I feel like this year was kind of a lost year now that I only played a couple of snaps and wasn’t able to go out there and improve what I’m capable of and then see what we’re capable of as a team. I don’t think that next year will be my last year with some of the things that I’ve learned over the last year taking care of my body and surrounding myself with some great people who’ve been helping me with my nutrition and my functional training.”
Tom Brady famously played until he was 45 years old, playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons after 20 with the New England Patriots. Can Rodgers play that long?
It remains to be seen but he’s more confident in playing during his 40s than he was prior to the Jets.
“I feel like I can play more years and I can be effective in my 40s which is crazy because I thought that I’d probably be sitting on a couch somewhere at 40,” Rodgers said. “But now I want to be a starter at 40, I want to be a starter at 41, I want to see what I get out of this body.
“I believe in the leadership that we have here. I believe our guys, I think it’s not a situation where we have to rebuild. We need to reload a little bit. And there’ll be some tough decisions for sure. But I like the pieces that we have in place like our young players.”
Rodgers proceeded to rattle off players on both sides of the ball, highlighting Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, Sauce Gardner, CJ Mosley and more. On the offense, he noted how Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall were game-breakers.
So it seems like the pieces are there if Rodgers is fully healthy and playing close to his peak.
“I think the future is very bright in New Jersey for our guys,” Rodgers said. “And we’ll finish out the season the right way and be a long offseason for sure. But I like the men that we have on the squad. I like the characters that we have. And we just got to add a couple of pieces to it and the goals we set are still the goals.”