Aaron Rodgers acknowledged that Sunday’s game could be the last time he plays in the NFL.
Rodgers was questioned by reporters whether the New York Jets’ season finale against the Miami Dolphins could be the last of his career, on Wednesday.
“Yeah, of course,” Rodgers answered.
Rodgers hasn’t made any final decision yet, but he says he will make one before the start of free agency in March. Rodgers is under contract with the Jets for next season, and is set to count for a $23 million cap hit. However, the Jets are also set to hire a new head coach and general manager in the offseason after Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas, the regime that brought Rodgers to New York, were fired mid-season.
“I’m just more resigned to the reality of the situation,” Rodgers admitted regarding the stakes of Sunday’s game. “I think there’s going to be change here, and if I’m [not] a part of the change, then I just want to make sure everybody knows I have nothing but gratitude for my time here.”
He added that he expects the new coach and general manager that are put in charge will make a quick decision regarding his future with the team.
“I don’t think we’re even going to get that far,” Rodgers said. “There’s going to be regime change here, at least with GM. Whatever they end up doing, I’m sure I’ll either get a call or have a conversation and go from there.”
Rodgers missed nearly his entire first season with the Jets last year after he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on the opening drive of the Jets’ Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills. This year, despite a full healthy season out of Rodgers, the Jets have gone 4-12.
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“I’m disappointed about the performance both myself and as a team but I’m really thankful for the opportunity. If I feel good coming back and they want to make another run at this, that would be fantastic, but I’m not naïve to the situation we’re in.”
The season has been physically taxing on Rodgers as well. After he was sacked four times against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, he became the most sacked quarterback in NFL history. He has been sacked 568 times in 247 career games – three more than Tom Brady, who was sacked 565 times in his career. Russell Wilson is right there as well with 556 sacks.
The Jets quarterback has been sacked 37 times this season. He led the league twice in times sacked in his career – both when he was with the Green Bay Packers.
Still, Rodgers considers his last two years in New York the best of his life.
“I mean gratitude, honestly. It’s been the best two years of my life,” Rodgers said. “That’s a perspective adjustment that happened at some point during the rehab process last year. Just the excitement, falling back in love with the game, getting to know these guys in here, getting to know the great men and women that work here. It’s been a lot of fun. Obviously, on the field has been short of expectations, no doubt. This game is more than just that. This game is about the relationships.”
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