The New York Jets season is over at 3-9, and the playoffs are out of reach, which has led to some speculation that interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich might bench Aaron Rodgers for the last five games of the year.
Despite Rodgers stating that he wants to play in every game, there are some who want the four-time MVP winner to take a step back and allow Tyrod Taylor to take over the offense.
But Ulbrich is sticking with Rodgers as the starter, stating that he gives the team the best chance to win, but why is it so important to Aaron that he plays in every game this season despite playoffs being out of the equation?
“Because that’s what you do when you’re a professional,” Rodgers said. “The most important ability you can have is availability, which I wasn’t available last year, so I’d love to play the games, I love playing football, I’m hyper-competitive, and I’d love to be out there with the guys.”
“That’s what you do.” Those four words don’t win games. But as a lost-season motto … they do count for something.
So it appears that Rodgers wants to ride this thing until the wheels fall off, and regardless of what you think of him both on and off the field, he’s not waving the white flag when he has every right to do so.
The Jets experiment hasn’t worked and with so much uncertainty heading into 2025, which includes the futures of several players like Rodgers and Davante Adams, finishing the year off in a positive way is really all that New York can do.
And Rodgers gives the Jets the best chance at doing that, and whether you agree with it or not, it does make the final few games rather interesting to see if anything can be salvaged from this wreckage.