FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers was in a reflective mood as he prepares for what could be his last game with the New York Jets.
And of his impressive 20-year NFL career.
“Yeah, of course,” Rodgers said when asked Wednesday if he has considered that the season finale Sunday against Miami could also be it for him. The 41-year-old quarterback insisted, though, he's not ready to make a call on his playing future.
“I just need a break mentally to kind of refresh and put my feet in the sand,” he said. “And see where I’m at after that.”
Still, he very much sounded as though he doesn't necessarily expect to be back with the Jets — even if he does want to continue playing.
“I mean, gratitude, honestly," Rodgers said of his time in New York, repeating that sentiment throughout his 10-minute chat with reporters. "It’s been the best two years of my life."
He called it a “perspective adjustment” that happened for him during his rehabilitation process from a torn Achilles tendon that limited him to just four snaps in his ballyhooed debut for the Jets last season. Rodgers said he fell in love with the game of football again after 18 years in Green Bay and cherishes the relationships he has made with teammates, coaches and others in the Jets organization.
“Obviously wish things would have gone better on the field,” he said. "But nothing but gratitude for this time in my life."
Rodgers came to the Jets in April 2023 in a trade from the Packers and immediately stoked optimism throughout the organization and fanbase that New York could go on a Super Bowl run. Or two. Or even more.
Instead, those dreams quickly dissolved with Rodgers' injury last season. And he has dealt with other injuries during a season that again began with high hopes, but has crumbled into one of the most disappointing in franchise history.
The Jets are 4-12, fired coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas — and Rodgers has only shown spurts of looking like a four-time MVP. He has also acknowledged that the team could release him after this season.
“I think there’s going to be change here and if I’m a part of the change, then I just want to make sure everybody knows that I have nothing but gratitude for my time here,” Rodgers said. "It’s been a great experience all around, and again, I’m disappointed about the performance of both myself and as a team, but really thankful for the opportunity.
“If I feel good coming back and they want to make another run at this, that’d be fantastic. But I’m not naive to the situation we’re in.”
After the 2022 season, Rodgers' future with the Packers was similarly uncertain and the quarterback was leaning toward retiring. He went on a darkness retreat in Oregon, where he spent four days in isolation and then emerged re-energized about playing and decided he wanted to join the Jets.
Rodgers will again take some time to process his thoughts during the offseason.
“Probably darkness again,” Rodgers said of his plans, before smiling. “No, I think I’m done with that. I won’t be doing any darkness retreats this offseason.”
But he will consider whether he truly wants to go through the physical and mental grind of another season. And he doesn't think a decision will drag deep into the offseason.
“March is free agency,” he said. “I don’t think we’re even going to get that far just because there’s going to be a regime change here, at least with the GM. And then whatever they end up doing, I’m sure I’ll either get a call or have a conversation, and go from there.”
Rodgers has one year remaining on his contract with a $2.5 million non-guaranteed base salary. He would also be due a $35 million option bonus before the regular season begins and count $23.5 million against the salary cap. So, that's something the new regime will need to consider.
If Rodgers is cut or retires, the Jets could absorb a $49 million dead money charge next year unless they designate him a June 1 cut and can spread out that charge over two years.
But that's all for down the road in the near future.
The present is all Rodgers is focused on right now — and the one certainty is that he knows he'll take the field at MetLife Stadium for the Jets on Sunday.
“This game has given me a lot,” Rodgers said. “I’ve given a lot back to it and I’m thankful for it. I’m not thinking (and) I won’t be thinking about that come game day. I’ll just be enjoying this. I’m trying to stay in the moment, but of course it’s been a long career.
“I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to be a part of, what I’ve been able to accomplish, and also looking forward to a nice mental and physical rest.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to pass against the Buffalo Bills during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers talks with th media following an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, left, hugs teammate quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
President Donald Trump on Thursday visits a U.S. base installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.
In other parts of the Middle East violence flared in the West Bank and Gaza, A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.
with a pregnant Israeli woman killed even as the international rights group ,Human Rights Watch ,said that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza, remain in the territory and displace hundreds of thousands of people “inches closer to extermination.”
Trump plans to address troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the recent U.S. air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program.
The President also meets business leaders in Qatar and heads to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Trump sat with GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg on either side of him on Thursday. Both praised Trump for his support for the Qatar Airways order for Boeing aircraft. Ortberg called it one of the largest orders Boeing has ever had.
A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.
An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday, and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in the city’s Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed.
It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children.
The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
Qatar’s satellite news channel Al Jazeera long has been a powerful force in the Middle East, often taking editorial positions at odds with America’s interests in the region during the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida.
But during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab nation this week, state-funded Al Jazeera muted its typical critiques of American foreign policy.
The channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, broadly covered Trump’s visit in a straightforward manner, highlighting it was the first-ever trip to Qatar by a sitting American leader. Mentions of the Israel-Hamas war, which Al Jazeera often has criticized America over for its military support to Israel, did not include any critiques of U.S. policy. Instead, journalists highlighted Qatar’s role as a mediator in the war and aired comments by Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling for a ceasefire.
After a morning meeting with top U.S. and Qatari officials and American defense and aerospace business leaders, Trump heads to Al-Udeid Air Base, a U.S. installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. There, he will address troops and is expected to view a demonstration of American air capability.
The president then travels to the United Arab Emirates, the final leg of his first major foreign trip. He will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and then to a state visit hosted at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Watan palace.
The international rights group said that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza, remain in the territory and displace hundreds of thousands of people “inches closer to extermination.”
It called on the international community to speak out against the plan. It said that the new plans, coupled with the “systematic destruction” of civilian infrastructure and the block on all imports into Gaza, were cause for signatories to the Genocide Convention to act to prevent Israel’s moves. It said states should halt weapons transfers to Israel and enforce international arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister, as well as review their bilateral agreements with the country.
Israel vehemently denies accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.
The group also called on Hamas to free the 58 hostages it still holds in Gaza, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
A pregnant Israeli woman has died after she was shot and critically wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, a hospital said Thursday.
Beilinson Hospital said that doctors succeeded in saving her unborn baby, who was in serious but stable condition after being delivered by caesarean section.
The Israeli military said a Palestinian assailant opened fire on a vehicle late Wednesday, wounded two civilians. Soldiers launched a search for the attacker.
It’s the latest violence in the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military has launched a major operation that it says is meant to crack down on militancy. The operation has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in months of violence that surged there after the start of the war in Gaza.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomes President Donald Trump during an official welcoming ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
