It was reported as recently as this past Sunday that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson wants “a fresh start at general manager, head coach and quarterback,” which suggests the Jets will move on from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers if he doesn’t retire before the new league year opens in March 2025.
During the latest edition of SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!” show and podcast, legendary head coach Bill Belichick explained why he believes Rodgers “could easily rebound…and be ready to play and have a good year next year” assuming Rodgers and the Jets part ways a handful of months down the road.
“These guys that switch teams, they get in a different system, things are a little bit different for them, maybe they learn some things from whatever it was their previous experiences were. It changes,” Belichick said, as shared by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “When a guy has a long career and a good career, sometimes one season is just a bump in the road. It’s not necessarily the end of the road.”
While Rodgers began Tuesday ranked in the bottom half of the league in multiple passing categories this season, the 41-year-old has also dealt with ankle, knee and hamstring injuries. Of course, there is a concern that he simply can no longer stay healthy through a grueling campaign. He suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 season, played with a broken thumb on his throwing hand in the fall of 2022 and also injured his ribs during that campaign.
Belichick nevertheless seems to think Rodgers could have something left in the tank for a team other than the Jets.
“One thing you run into sometimes with players as they age in their career is the injury factor,” Belichick added. “And sometimes players can have an injury at the later point in their career and make it look like maybe it’s an age problem when actually it was an injury problem. And then once that injury clears up, then there’s a lot more good football left in that player.”
Florio mentioned after “Let’s Go!” aired that Belichick and Rodgers could soon link up with a New York Giants team that’s currently 2-10 and in real danger of losing each of the remaining five games on its schedule. Giants co-owner John Mara could dismiss head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen if the club finishes this season with a 2-15 record. Meanwhile, Big Blue will need to acquire a bridge quarterback during the upcoming offseason after the club moved on from Daniel Jones in November.
Belichick earned his first two of eight career Super Bowl rings while with the Giants from 1979 through the 1990 season. If he could convince Rodgers to mentor a rookie quarterback for even one year, the two iconic figures could finish their active football careers with the NFC East franchise.
