Gates: Philip Rivers 'Definitely Capable' of Replacing Injured Aaron Rodgers for Jets

Former NFL tight end Antonio Gates believes the New York Jets can do much worse than his former teammate if they are looking for a quarterback to replace Aaron Rodgers.

"Philip is someone that's definitely capable of doing it," Gates told TMZ Sports when discussing Philip Rivers. "Just because the mental capacity that he has."

Gates and Rivers were teammates with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers from 2004 through 2018. Rivers took over the starting quarterback role in 2006, and Gates made six of his eight career Pro Bowl appearances while catching passes from the signal-caller.

While Rivers is 41 years old and hasn't played since 2020, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said his team would have looked to sign the veteran had it advanced to the Super Bowl last season given the quarterback injuries on the roster, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.

Yet it doesn't seem like the Jets will be going down that path.

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters that Zach Wilson is "the guy" after Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.

Rivers surely wouldn't be looking to come out of retirement to be a backup at this point, so fans hoping to see a return will likely be left disappointed. Even if Gates believes he could do it.