“How Do You Not Explore Bringing Aaron Rodgers Back for Another Season”: Ted Bruschi Gets Real About the Jets QB1 Situation

The 2024 season has been miserable for the Jets with Aaron Rodgers as the signal caller. Yet, Ted Bruschi, along with his Sunday NFL Countdown crew, believes they need to explore the option of bringing him back for another year.

Host Mike Greenberg started the discussion by asking simply if Rodgers will return to the Big Apple next season. In response, Bruschi stated that regardless of who the next head coach is, bringing Rodgers back has to be on the table.

“Whoever is going to be the head coach of the New York Jets has to explore that option. Aaron Rodgers is coming off an Achilles injury, and playing better now. Aaron does not want to go out like this,” Bruschi stated.

While it may be true that the four-time MVP doesn’t want to retire mired in mediocrity, he may not have a choice. As Bruschi pointed out, the Jets have been a laughingstock this season. They’ve already voided his 2026 season on his contract as well. But what’s stopping them from outright cutting Rodgers?

Bruschi answered this question with another, “How do you not explore bringing this player back for another season when you’ve already done so much (for him)? To get a head coach that can get the best out of Aaron Rodgers — who is that?”

It’s a good point that Bruschi made. A head coaching change, too, feels inevitable at this point. The better question would be, however: Who do the Jets replace Rodgers with if they decided to go that route?

Rumors suggest Kirk Cousins is the perfect fit, but then the Jets would be tasked with dealing with another moderate QB. Bring in an aging veteran who had a recent Achilles tear — it would make no sense. But the Jets rarely make sensible decisions, so who’s to say that won’t happen?

Bruschi’s words naturally roused up insider Adam Schefter. He responded by asking, “Who are you going to get right now if you are the Jets that’s going to be better than Aaron Rodgers? That’s number one. Number two, the owner has to sign off on it because the owner has been temperamental with Aaron Rodgers.”

But most importantly, Schefter pointed out that we don’t even know whether Rodgers himself wants to return to New York. He’s always been unpredictable, and as Schefter noted, he’s someone with a documentary titled “Enigma.” No one could possibly predict what Rodgers wants by the time the new league year begins.

The conversation then turned to a guy who knows the Jets organization all too well, Rex Ryan. But he didn’t want to get wrapped up in the drama, knowing his words would echo the loudest being their former head coach.

“There’ll be a time when I address that. Because I can tell you this, any coach going in there is going to have a plan. And they probably already know whether they signed up for him or not.”

It’ll be interesting to see which route the Jets decide to take in the coming weeks. Rodgers is on the books for a $23.5 million cap hit. However, he’s mentioned he’d be willing to restructure the deal to free up cap space.

But the Jets might be done with Rodgers and his drama after this season. Even if they sit outside, the picks for a premier QB and the upcoming free agency are slim, as Schefter noted. Rodgers has set the Jets back several years with his demands, and they need to surgically remove him from the franchise without harming other aspects.

For example, it’s being reported that Garrett Wilson may request a trade if Rodgers stays put for 2025. The Jets thus need to decide what is worth it. Keeping an exciting young receiving talent who would thrive anywhere he goes. Or keeping an aging, expensive veteran who has brought nothing but great calamity to the Jets organization.

The longer Rodgers stays with the team, the more these issues will arise. As much as it sucks to say, the once-great and still decent Aaron Rodgers needs to hang them up after this year.