Aaron Rodgers is back as the Jets’ starting quarterback — healthy, confident and ready for a potential do-or-die season for himself and the entire organization.
— Aaron Rodgers is back as the starting quarterback of the New York Jets — healthy, confident and ready for a potential do-or-die season for himself and the entire organization.
“If I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing, we’re all probably going to be out of here,” Rodgers said Tuesday after his second OTA practice — the first open to the media. “I like that kind of pressure, though.”
The four-time MVP amplified the narrative surrounding the Jets, that the fates of coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas likely hinge on the 2024 season. The Jets are 18-33 under the leadership of Saleh and Douglas and are hoping Rodgers and a win-now roster can end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought — 13 years.
Rodgers, 40, put himself on the hot seat as well.
“You might not say it, but as you get older in the league, if you don’t perform, they’re going to get rid of you or bring in the next guy to take over,” he said. “I mean, it happened in Green Bay, and I’m a few years older than I was back then.
“I expect to play at a high level. I expect us to be productive and competitive and all that stuff to take care of itself.”
For the first time in eight months, Rodgers presided over the Jets’ starting offense, showing no apparent signs of rust and no lingering effects from a torn Achilles that ended his 2023 season on the fourth snap.
“He’s doing everything,” Saleh said of the practice regimen.
With Rodgers at quarterback, the ball didn’t touch the ground until the latter stages of the 90-minute practice. He was perfect (2-for-2) in his first 11-on-11 period, was perfect (5-for-5) in his only 7-on-7 period, and completed his first three attempts in the next 11-on-11 before missing wide receiver Xavier Gipson on a deep sideline route.
