Super Bowl XLV MVP, four-time National Football League MVP, and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers was officially released from the New York Jets Feb. 20, signaling a likely end to a monumental career and the end to a specific era of NFL quarterbacks.
From 2000-2005, some of the undoubtably best quarterbacks in NFL history were drafted, setting a high standard for the era.
Some notable mentions are Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rodgers was drafted by the Green Bay Packers as the 24 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He is the last of the “greats” from that half decade still playing, as Brady retired in 2023. As many new standouts, possibly franchise quarterbacks, are starting to come out of college, a new generation is emerging and Rodgers, 41, stands out as the oldest quarterback still playing as of now in the NFL.
He spent the first two years of his time with the Packers as the backup for Brett Favre, another Hall of Fame quarterback. He then went on to start for the first time in the 2008 season, after Favre retired, jumpstarting his dazzling 18 years with the Packers.
In 2010, just two years after being named starter, Rodgers led his team to a Super Bowl win. In that season, he had 3,922 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He led the NFL in touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating.
Since that February day in 2010, Rodgers has never been able to “climb the mountain” again, not returning to a Super Bowl. He remains 7-9 in the postseason, playing 16 straight postseasons without reaching the Super Bowl, the longest streak by any quarterback in NFL history.
In April 2023, the Packers traded him to the Jets for six players, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, a 2023 sixth-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick.
In his first game as a Jet, his fourth play in the white, black and Gotham green, Rodgers tore his right Achilles tendon, ending his season immediately. “I was really thinking, this is it. You don’t come back from this injury,” Rodgers said in a 2024 interview for the I Can Fly Podcast.
Seventy-seven days after Rodgers had surgery on his knee, he returned to practice. He did not return to the field until over a year later ahead for the 2024 season.
The Jets finished the 2024 season with a record of 5-12, missing the playoffs. This season was one of the best, statistically, for the franchise, but their record did not reflect that.
Rodgers started all 17 games, finishing with the third-most passing yards and touchdowns in Jets history.
After the Jets released Rodgers, many believed he would not return, but it is evident that he still wants to play.
A string of many Quarterback trades and open positions has left an opening position at the New York Giants and a possible position with the Minnesota Vikings, although subsequent reports suggest they have moved on to other options.
So, Rodgers could retire and mark the end of an awe-striking career and era of rare quarterbacks, or he could continue playing, and keep working for that mountain top of success, one he has been working on achieving again since 2010.
