After disappearing most of the 2023 season due to injuryAaron Rodgers has already made it clear that he plans to return to the field in 2024.
So, what is his plan after the upcoming season? If Rodgers is successful, it looks like he’ll stay with the New York Jets for a few more seasons. The four-time MVP now hopes to follow in Tom Brady’s footsteps and possibly play into his 40s.
Rodgers revealed his new retirement timeline during a recent interview on the “Look Into It Podcast with Eddie Bravo.” The topic came up during a conversation about how Rodgers’ injured Achilles was holding up.
“I came back to the training ground at the end of the season and I couldn’t achieve a maximum speed sprint, but I was in a really good place from a rehabilitation point of view, from the start, and I felt really good,” Rodgers said. said Bravo. “I hope to be able to play for two, three or four more years, but you have to be lucky to get there.”
During an interview in December, Rodgers mentioned that he I aim to play two more seasons, but he never mentioned the possibility of playing up to FOUR additional seasons. If Rodgers holds out that long, that means he’ll play through the 2027 season. If that happens, the Jets quarterback would be 43 years old at the start of the year and his 44th birthday would come in December 2027.
Of course, Rodgers is well aware that he might not last that long, which is probably why he mentioned that he’ll need a little “luck” if he wants to play four more seasons. Not only does he need to stay injury-free, but he also needs to prove that he can still play at a high level.
With the 40-year-old coming off a season where he tore his Achilles tendon, no one can predict how Rodgers will play in the future. There’s no guarantee he’ll return to MVP form, but if he does, then the Jets have a serious chance of ending their 13-year drought without making the playoffs, which is a no-brainer. only the longest active drought in the NFL, but the longest of the four major North American sports leagues.
With Rodgers planning to play “two, three or four” more seasons, that’s good news for general manager Joe Douglas, coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Rodgers seems to really like all three guys, and it seems pretty clear that all three of them will likely stay in New York for as long as Rodgers is there.
That being said, if Rodgers plays the entire 2024 season and the Jets struggle, the team could have some tough decisions to make by this time next year.