The Case for Bringing Back Aaron Rodgers for 2025

With Darren Mougey officially in place as the Jets General Manager and Aaron Glenn as the Head Coach, the biggest question remains what will the New York Jets do with Aaron Rodgers?

There seems to be a massive split amongst both fans and media about what to do with the recently-turned 40-year-old signal caller as the Jets try to usher in yet another new era with their fifth different GM-HC combination of the last 10 years. Of course it makes sense to start anew and have the new regime bring in fresh players that fit the mold of what they’re trying to build, but with all of the talent that still remains on this roster it might be worth trying to end their 14-year playoff drought in year one as the Commanders successfully did this year.

While bringing back Aaron Rodgers makes sense for the latter, there’s a case to be made that bringing him back could serve both schools of thought. When making that case, consider the fact that there are three main reasons why Aaron Rodgers is the best possible option for the Jets QB in 2025: Health, Results, and Roster Construction.

Health is Wealth

Everyone knows that Aaron Rodgers suffered a devastating Achilles injury in September 2023 but it seems like almost no one actually knows about the recovery from such an injury. Of course for everyone it’s different, but the general timeline for athletes recovery is 12(!) months. It was quite foolish to assume that in his very first NFL action since the injury that he would somehow look even better than he did before the injury.

Looking back, the Jets probably should have put Rodgers out there in the preseason to get his bearings back but Robert Saleh opted not to,  forcing Rodgers to work through those kinks in regular season action. Still, the Aaron Rodgers of old did eventually come to life, throwing 14 TDs to just 1 INT during an 8-game span that also included his first 300-yard game in 3 years. Rodgers also had two different games in that span where he threw for 3 touchdowns, which only happened once in the entire 2022 season when he played 17 games for the Packers.

One additional year removed from the injury, he should actually feel like his prior self (age not withstanding). NFL legend Shawne Merriman spoke with me earlier this month and he said something very similar.   As a player who suffered the same injury, it’s worth hearing him share his experience and explain why he thinks Aaron will be better in 2025 than he was in 2024.

Also, given that almost all of his skill players and most of his linemen will be returning, their chemistry will be higher than it’s ever been – leading to quicker decisions and fewer hits with the ball coming out at a better pace.

2024 Results

If you’re one of those that say “all I care about is wins” then this might be a hard section to understand. Wins aren’t based on the actions of any one man on a football field – quarterbacks can be perfect and still have their kickers miss field goals / extra points to ultimately lose games. On the other side, quarterbacks can be absolutely atrocious and still be carried to victory via a dominant defense that can score points themselves and stop their opponents from scoring. We should all be familiar with the latter, because Zach Wilson was accruing wins for two years without throwing a touchdown for full games at a time.

So in looking at quarterbacks, wins aren’t all too relevant. The most relevant measurements are the ones that determine how well the offense was able to move the ball down the field and score touchdowns. In 2024, Aaron Rodgers did these things at a much better pace than any Jets quarterback since the 2015 Ryan Fitzpatrick season. Believe it or not, his numbers for 2024 even surpass his output from his last season as a Packer in 2022 when the team finished 8-9. More yards thrown, more touchdowns thrown, and fewer interceptions in 2024 coming off an Achilles injury at age 40.

The Jets had been on a streak of four consecutive seasons without having a QB throw for 10+ touchdowns, which Rodgers shattered with his 28 touchdowns thrown in 2024. This total is the third highest in team history and the most since (you guessed it) Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 2015 season. Rodgers’s 3,897 yards this season was the first time since 2019 that a Jets QB threw for 3,000+ yards. That total is also the 3rd highest in franchise history.

Lastly, the offensive touchdowns. This can help put some balance, because maybe some Jets offenses were run heavy than others, but they still require terrific QB play to score. This year the Jets scored 39 offensive touchdowns, compared to just 18 the previous year. The 2015 Jets had 44 offensive touchdowns but no other team was able to surpass 35 in the years that have passed since. They only passed 30 twice, but here the Rodgers Jets were able to overcome 5 games of Nathaniel Hackett play calling and still score 39 touchdowns.

For team that’s in flux and wants some stability as they lay the groundwork for the future, don’t you think they would benefit from having a QB who was 8th in the league in yards and 7th in the league in TDs the year prior? Isn’t that a value worth passing on to your next QB  who you could draft in April or might be Jordan Travis? Let your heir apparent learn behind one of the all-time greats while still giving your skill position players Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Malachi Corley etc. an opportunity to develop in a formidable passing attack.

Roster Construction

You’ll notice we mention  Davante Adams when talking skill players in the last section. He almost certainly not be a Jet if they decide to move on from Rodgers so they really need to think long and hard about whether they’re willing to lose an elite WR duo just to get rid of Rodgers. Garrett and Davante are a formidable pair of no. 1 receivers who defenses have to prepare for, but could having both be too much to handle?

Even without a Head Coach, we saw a few games where this concept was on display and the pair torched opposing defenses for 100+ yards. With an improved offensive scheme, offensive line, and the increased chemistry of Rodgers-Hall-Adams-Wilson, the sky might be the limit for how high this offense can soar. Assuming Malachi Corley (who was trending up towards the end of the season) takes his place among the starting WRs, the Jets can put themselves in a position to have a longtime lethal trio that exists even beyond Rodgers if they get the next piece right.

Rodgers and Adams have two of the largest contracts in the NFL right now, and both carry an insurmountable amount of dead cap. The best way to work down these cap situations is to re-negotiate them, which is most easily done when the two sides are amicable. Trying to push Rodgers out and then work something out with Adams may put the Jets in a horrific situation that teams try their best to avoid. You may say ‘Darren Mougey just got the Broncos to the playoffs with the worst dead cap in NFL history’ but I don’t really gameplan for lightning to strike twice.

I think the best plan is to keep them both happy, re-negotiate their cap to avoid cap hell altogether, and continue having a borderline Top-10  NFL QB under center at a price that isn’t even close to the top 10 in the league. He is currently the 16th highest paid QB in the NFL and may drop even further down the list after free agency. His production at his price is a steal, and comes with an elite WR to boot. Let your young QB learn under this man and hope that the Glenn era lasts long enough so that the new QB can experience his first few years in the league under the same management in the same offensive system.

With so many QBs projected to go into the second round, this is truly the perfect year to get a signal caller like Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss or Ohio State’s Will Howard.  Have them soak in oodles of knowledge from one of the best to ever play the position while still having to compete with Jordan Travis for the starting job in 2026. Can you envision a situation that would work better than this one because I can’t think of any. Let’s go Jets

The post The Case for Bringing Back Aaron Rodgers for 2025 appeared first on JetNation.com – New York Jets Blog & Forum. You can discuss this with other NY Jets fans on the Jet Nation message board. Or visit of on Facebook.

Source: https://www.jetnation.com/2025/01/27/the-case-for-bringing-back-aaron-rodgers-for-2025/