The tradition started over two months ago. Each night before a game, New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich picked a player or coach to share their story and explain why they play.
The players and staff took turns speaking, but for 11 sessions, Aaron Rodgers didn’t participate.
This wasn’t because Ulbrich didn’t want him to or because Rodgers thought he was too important. It was by choice.
“I’d asked him earlier in the season if he was thinking about letting me do it at the end,” Rodgers said Sunday night. “I just kind of wanted to talk to the guys about what the last two years have meant to me.”
Rodgers wanted one last, uninterrupted opportunity to speak to his teammates and coaches and to thank them. The 40-year-old understands that after Sunday night, he may not play another game for the Jets.
In the locker room, players felt a mix of joy and relief but couldn’t ignore the uncertainty about their quarterback’s future. This team is used to change. After losing head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 and general manager Joe Douglas on Nov. 19, they know no one’s future with the team is certain.
The uncertainty extends to Rodgers, whose four-touchdown performance on Sunday was rare during a 5-12 season. Beating the Miami Dolphins 32-20 weeks after playoff hopes were lost didn’t erase a disappointing year.
Still, the Jets took a moment to appreciate the relationships that mattered more than the results, reflecting on what worked before focusing on what didn’t.
Rodgers led the charge with his Saturday night speech and his 274-yard performance in the season finale.
“There’s been a lot of special things that happened,” Rodgers said. “I would have had a big hole inside me that only these two years could have filled.”
Now, the question is, how will he fill his next two years?
A framework for considering Rodgers’ future
Two main questions will determine Rodgers’ future in the NFL, and their combination takes him into unknown territory.
The first question: Will the Jets want to bring back a quarterback who couldn’t consistently deliver strong performances, both personally and as a team, this season?
Rodgers admitted that he achieved his goal of playing all 17 games, but he didn’t meet some of his other goals. The Jets will have to consider how much injuries during the season affected his performance and how much his age is catching up with him.
A general manager and coach who didn’t sign Rodgers will see that he completed 63% of his passes, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while the Jets lost several games they led in the fourth quarter.
They’ll wonder: In 2025, will he play like the quarterback who threw four touchdowns in the season finale after bouncing back from an early interception? Or will he resemble the player with a 90.5 QB rating, whose mobility was inconsistent and chemistry with receivers shaky?
The decision likely won’t be up to Ulbrich, but he shared his thoughts.
“He wanted to play 17 games after an Achilles injury at 40-plus years old — that was a major part of his drive this year,” Ulbrich said. “Finally getting an opportunity to get healthy towards the end, we got to see that he can still play this game at a very, very high level. Whether he plays or not after this will be completely up to him because I’m sure he’ll have an opportunity.”
This leads to the second question: Does Rodgers want to keep playing?
The assumption is that Rodgers is capable. His teammates and coaches believe he can still perform at a high level.
Even so, the four-time MVP has said he needs some time away from the game before making his decision. He wants to think clearly, not in the heat of the moment. He plans to meet with team owners Woody and Christopher Johnson soon and will consider their views as part of his decision.
“Either way, I won’t be upset or offended,” Rodgers said. “Whatever they decide to do, if they want to move on — if I still want to play. And if not, I’ll let them know at some point.”
Teammates think Rodgers can still perform well in 2025. Tight end Tyler Conklin said Rodgers has “unlimited gas in the tank.”
“As a competitor and the person he is, it’s probably gonna be hard for him to not want to keep playing, but we’ll see what happens,” Conklin said. “It’ll be interesting.”
Rodgers’ uncertainty with the Jets is different from his exit from the Packers.
When Rodgers reached a turning point in his career before, he felt he had two choices: either play for an NFL team other than the Green Bay Packers or retire.
In 2022, Rodgers wasn’t sure which path to follow. He was certain that his time in Green Bay was over, and after 18 years, he felt drained.
“I needed to figure out whether I still had a desire to play and whether I could get the love for the game back,” Rodgers said. “I have tremendous love for the game [now] so I can’t say it feels anything like that. This feels much different.
“Just need to get away, and then also see what they’re into, what they’re thinking.”
Rodgers seemed to be open to the idea of playing again. He was excited when describing his first touchdown of the game as “an old-school red-zone touchdown like we did for so long in Green Bay.” This suggests that his talent is still a force to be reckoned with.
Instead of ruling out possibilities, Rodgers considered what he would do if the Jets decided to move on while he still had the urge to play.
“Would I be willing to play for another team?” Rodgers said. “The answer is yes.”
His speech on Saturday hinted at why. While Rodgers is close to reaching major milestones, like becoming the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 touchdowns, with 503 touchdowns now in sight, surpassing Brett Favre’s 508 and Peyton Manning’s 539 is a possibility. Another Super Bowl title would always be tempting.
However, Rodgers didn’t focus on winning or records during his speech. He talked about relationships—the connections that he knows won’t be replicated when he retires.
That’s why Rodgers walked off Lambeau Field with his close friend Randall Cobb after his final game with the Packers two years ago. And this time, after Cobb retired, Davante Adams, Rodgers’ best friend still playing, escorted him off the field. Cobb flew in for what could be the last chapter of Rodgers’ Jets career.
This appreciation for relationships in the NFL will likely play a part in Rodgers’ decision, alongside his desire to show his doubters that he can still play at a high level in his 40s. He also wants to prove to himself that his strong four-touchdown performance in the season finale isn’t just a fluke.
“I think the big thing that he always said from the get-go, and he talked to us last night [about was] however long you play this game or whatever situation you’re in, if you don’t leave with relationships, then you’re missing out on something, because this game is about relationships,” said Tyler Conklin.
“It’s about bonds and it’s about friendships and going to war together and going through hard stuff together and helping feed each other’s families.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but that’s the thing that he prioritizes over everything, right? It’s his relationships and the relationships he’s built. I think that’s special.
“Especially with everything he’s done in his career, to prioritize relationships over everything he’s done is pretty cool. It says a lot about him.”
