Report: 'Several People Close to' Aaron Rodgers Prepared for Jets QB's NFL Retirement

Sunday may be the final time Aaron Rodgers takes the field as a quarterback in an NFL game.

"I would say very firmly up in the air," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said of Rodgers' future. "Listening to Rodgers' pretty heartfelt words this week sounded like someone who at least is preparing for the possibility that he is playing his last game. I'm not talking about with the [New York] Jets, I'm talking about plain last game...

There's several people close to him who I know are preparing for the fact that this could in fact be it. "

If Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins is Rodgers' final one, he isn't exactly going out on top.

The Jets are 4-12 and clearly one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season given the overall talent on the roster. They have been playing out the string of the 2024 campaign for some time and can now only play spoiler to the Dolphins.

The Cincinnati Bengals certainly hope they do just that, as the AFC North teams needs the Dolphins and Denver Broncos to lose Sunday to reach the playoffs. Bengals offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr. even had an offer for Rodgers:

Rodgers is 41 years old and suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during the first game of the 2023 campaign. It would be anything but surprising if he retired after this disappointing Jets season, and he was fairly reflective Wednesday when speaking to reporters.

The future Hall of Famer said he would look to "stay in the moment" during Sunday's game and will "need a break mentally" before deciding on his future:

Better on-field performance may have increased the chances he will return in 2025, but his QBR of 48.2 this season and 41.3 in 2022 during the last two full campaigns he's played are the lowest marks of his career, per Pro Football Reference.

He is not the same dominant force who ascended to the top of the sport during his peak years on the Green Bay Packers. Instead, he has been a less consistent version of that performer who has only flashes moments of his former greatness instead of maintaining his status as one of the league's best.

There will be plenty of turnover this offseason for the Jets with a new general manager and new head coach on the top of the list.

Perhaps they will need a new quarterback as well.