Jets Rumors: Aaron Rodgers 'Must Play Far Better' to Have 'Opportunity to Return'

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is on the fence about whether to retain star quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the 2025 NFL season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport reported Sunday that "there are now questions about whether Rodgers will be welcomed back to the team" with the Jets needing to hire a new general manager and head coach this offseason.

"There has been no firm and final decision, but sources with knowledge of Johnson's thinking say Rodgers must play far better down the stretch for the opportunity to return in 2025," Rapoport said.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini cast serious doubt on Rodgers' future in the Big Apple on Saturday. She reported that Johnson "has lost confidence in Rodgers' ability to lead the team to their first playoff berth in 14 years."

"I'm told no decisions have been made yet, but it appears increasingly likely that the four-time MVP, who is banged up, could be placed on injured reserve or possibly benched over the next few weeks, signaling the end of his disastrous time with the Jets," Russini said.

She added that Rodgers might be equally ready to move on as he's looking to keep playing next year, "just not for the New York Jets."

At 3-8, New York is on pace to have a worse record than it did in 2023, when Rodgers was sidelined for nearly the entire season. His time with the team has been marred by poor performances on the field and regular drama off it.

The experiment has been a catastrophic failure for the franchise. Starting with a clean slate in 2025 is the right call assuming the Jets don't have a massive turnaround in the final month.

Rapoport and Russini's reports are pretty telling in terms of what New York will ultimately choose.

Even before he was on the roster, the Jets went out of their way to accommodate Rodgers whether it was hiring Nathaniel Hackett as the offensive coordinator or acquiring multiple players who had been teammates with Rodgers on the Green Bay Packers. In the immediate aftermath of Robert Saleh, Johnson had to dismiss the notion the move was driven by the surefire Hall of Famer.

Now, you have reports of Johnson wanting to bench Rodgers as early as September along with his increasing lack of faith in the QB. It's hard to see a way back when all of this is out in the open.