Aaron Rodgers is open to taking a pay cut, mentoring a rookie quarterback, in order to stay with Jets
Aaron Rodgers of the Jets looks on during warmups before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 15 in Jacksonville, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/Mike Carlson
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers doesn’t know if he’ll be on a beach somewhere or on a football field next season. But if he and the Jets decide they want to stay together, Rodgers is willing to help them financially and be a mentor for a young quarterback.
“I’m open to everything,” Rodgers said after Wednesday’s practice.
That phrase has become Rodgers’ go-to regarding his future. He hasn’t closed the door on returning to the Jets in 2025, even if it means taking a pay cut.
The 41-year-old Rodgers is on the books for $23.5 million next season. None of it is guaranteed. Rodgers said he is “open” to adjusting his contract or taking less, which he did after being traded to the Jets in 2023. If the Jets cut Rodgers, they will incur a $49 million “dead” cap charge in 2025.
He also said if the Jets drafted a quarterback — which they may — and asked him to help groom him, Rodgers would. But he wouldn’t give up his starting job quietly.
“During the season?” Rodgers said incredulously, He later added, “If they ask me back and they drafted a guy, I’d mentor the hell out of him if I was playing — and I’d try to play as well as I could to keep him on the bench.”
Rodgers has been in that situation before in Green Bay. He was drafted in 2005 to be Brett Favre’s successor. Favre was not interested in mentoring Rodgers, though.
When Rodgers was put in Favre’s position in 2020, he handled it a little differently.
The Packers drafted Jordan Love in 2020 to be Rodgers’ heir apparent. It fueled Rodgers to back-to-back MVP seasons in 2020 and 2021. Love learned from watching Rodgers, but he also tried to help prepare Love for when his turn came. The Packers are 10-4 this season.
“When they drafted Jordan, I felt like I was one bad stretch from being benched,” Rodgers said. “I won MVP a couple of years. That’s the way the league is. You got to prove that you can play every single week and through stretches.”
The Jets could choose to sign a free agent quarterback or hand the job over to veteran Tyrod Taylor — who is under contract for next season — to be the bridge if they draft one.
Rodgers is focused on the final three games and finishing the season strong. He’s played well of late. It has coincided with his body feeling healthier. Rodgers was hampered by hamstring, ankle and knee injuries earlier in the season.
In his last two games, Rodgers has thrown for 628 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Rodgers said his improved play hasn’t made him lean toward playing next season, though.
“No, not really,” he said. “I’m going to take some time after the year — unless I get released right away. But I’ll still take some time [to decide] whether or not I want to play.”
It was suggested to Rodgers that he might feel even better next season, further removed from surgery on his torn Achilles tendon last September.
“It’s possible,” he said. “I may be sitting on a beach, though.”
The Jets remain Rodgers’ first option if he decides to play.
“There’s a lot of reasons why this would be a great opportunity, but I’m going to see what happens,” Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of things yet to happen. They got to hire a GM. They got to hire a head coach. Whether or not I’m part of the conversation or whether or not they move on, whatever happens I’ll be taking my time and thinking about my future.”
Sauce heating up
Cornerback Sauce Gardner’s last two games have been his “best two games of the season,” according to interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. Gardner had eight tackles and four passes defended in his last two games, and a game-clinching interception Sunday in Jacksonville. It was Gardner’s first pick since his rookie season in 2022.
“I just see a rejuvenated spirit and focus,” Ulbrich said. “It’s the Sauce that we all love as far as the way he’s been preparing and has resulted into two really [good] back-to-back games. So he’s just got to keep it going.”
Two-minute drill
Quinnen Williams (hamstring) did not participate in Wednesday’s walk-through . . . Safety Jalen Mills broke his collarbone on his interception in Jacksonville and was placed on injured reserve . . . Defensive lineman Leki Fotu (knee) returned to practice from IR . . . The Jets signed running back Zach Evans, defensive lineman Bradlee Anae and tight end Neal Johnson to the practice squad.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
