Aaron Rodgers proved in Week 18 that he can still play at a high level if any NFL team wants him

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Aaron Rodgers proved in Week 18 that he can still play at a high level if any NFL team wants him

2025-01-06 22:33 Last Updated At：22:46

Aaron Rodgers showed the rest of the NFL in Week 18 that he can still play at a high level in case he wants to return for a 21st season.

The four-time NFL MVP threw four touchdown passes against a team that was playing to preserve slim playoff hopes, helping the New York Jets finish a miserable season on a winning note.

Rodgers became the fifth player in NFL history to reach 500 career TD passes, doing so in New York’s 32-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Now, Rodgers heads into an offseason of uncertainty.

First, he must decide whether he’s coming back or retiring. He doesn’t even know if the Jets will want him after going 5-12 this season.

“I just need some time away to think about my future in the game, and my future here if they want me to be a part of the next phase or they’re ready to move on,” Rodgers said. “Either way, I’m thankful for my two years here.”

The team is seeking a general manager and head coach, so ownership may want input from the new regime before making a decision on Rodgers.

Owner Woody Johnson, vice chairman Christopher Johnson and team president Hymie Elhai are expected to chat with Rodgers at some point during the week.

“I’m looking forward to those conversations,” Rodgers said. “It feels good to be able to do some of the things these last five or six weeks I know I was capable of doing, even at 40, 41. But either way, I won’t be upset or offended with what they decide to do — if they want to move on, if I still want to play.

“And if not, I’ll let them know, if that’s the case.”

Rodgers, who turned 41 last month, was slowed by injuries after coming back from a torn Achilles tendon that ended his first season with the Jets on the fourth snap.

He started moving around better late in the season and saved his best for the last game.

“We have talked a lot about can he still play,” Fox analyst Greg Olsen said. “Can he move? Can he do all of the physical things? Coming into (this game) he had five touchdown passes through 17 weeks where he was under pressure or on the move. He has thrown four (Sunday), which is the most by any quarterback the entire season.

“So the element of his game that has always made him special. The question was had he lost it? Well, in this one-game sample size. ... And we have seen it other times throughout the season. This is the best version of Aaron Rodgers we’ve seen all year. And I promise you, there’s a lot of teams around the league that are taking very close note.”

Rodgers is slated to make a nonguaranteed $37.5 million in 2025 with a dead cap hit of $49 million as his salary cap total goes from $17.1 million to $23.5 million.

The Jets could spread the dead money over two years by releasing Rodgers with the use of post-June 1 designation. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, so they would need his permission to make a deal.

If Rodgers wants to keep playing and the Jets don’t want him back, here are five potential destinations for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer:

TENNESSEE TITANS: A six-game losing streak to close out the season clinched the No. 1 overall pick for the Titans, who will be seeking a franchise quarterback after benching Will Levis. They can choose between Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward or make a trade. Rodgers could make sense on a one-year deal to allow a rookie time to develop from the sideline.

CLEVELAND BROWNS: They also closed out the season on a six-game losing streak and will have the No. 2 pick in the draft. The Browns owe Deshaun Watson $92 million and restructured his contract by adding voidable years to extend his dead salary cap through the 2030 season. Watson has struggled and will be coming off a torn right Achilles tendon sustained on Oct. 20. Joe Flacco had success in Kevin Stefanski’s offense last year, leading Cleveland to the playoffs. Rodgers could be a short-term fit for a team that expects to compete in 2025.

NEW YORK GIANTS: A win last week cost the Giants the No. 1 pick and they slipped to the third slot. They need a franchise QB but won’t have their choice unless they trade up. Rodgers wouldn’t have to move and could make sense as a bridge quarterback.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: They also need a quarterback and will have the sixth pick. New minority owner Tom Brady believes rookie quarterbacks need time to develop and learn. Brady and Rodgers have a great relationship, so the seven-time Super Bowl champion likely would be in favor of having Rodgers start and tutor a youngster. Brady was a Super Bowl MVP at age 43 and played until he was 45. He could inspire Rodgers to keep playing.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: They drafted Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick in 2023, but he’s been inconsistent. The Colts haven’t reached the playoffs since Philip Rivers led them to an 11-5 record in 2020. They fell short with Carson Wentz in 2021, going 9-8. They were 4-12-1 with Matt Ryan in 2022 before selecting Richardson. Bringing Rodgers in to make a playoff run for one season while allowing the inexperienced Richardson to learn from one of the all-time greats could be enticing for owner Jim Irsay.

AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak contributed to this report.

Los Angeles residents flee fire as potentially 'life-threatening, destructive' winds gain strength

2025-01-08 06:26 Last Updated At：06:30

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters scrambled to corral a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Angeles hillsides dotted with celebrity homes as a potentially “life-threatening, destructive” windstorm hit Southern California on Tuesday, fanning the blaze seen for miles while traffic out of the area was jammed as residents tried to flee.

Forecasters warned the worst may be yet to come with the windstorm predicted to last for days, producing isolated gusts that could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills.

Already the winds were toppling trees, creating dangerous surf and bringing extreme wildfire risk to areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.

Fire crews were battling a handful of small blazes in the Los Angeles area, including in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades area in western Los Angeles where residents were ordered to evacuate. The Palisades Fire swiftly consumed more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of dry brush and sent up a huge plume of smoke visible across the city. Residents in Venice Beach, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) away, reported seeing the flames.

Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his Pacific Palisades home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the large homes on the steep hillside.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, urged people who abandon their cars to leave their keys behind so he can move their cars out of the way for firetrucks. He described fire burning in the neighborhood as people tried to evacuate.

“This is not a parking lot,” Guttenberg told KTLA. “I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate … I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars.”

The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, California, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. Biden will deliver his remarks in Los Angeles instead.

The National Weather Service said what could be the strongest Santa Anawindstorm in more than a decade began Tuesday across Los Angeles and Ventura counties and was forecast to peak in the early hours of Wednesday, when gusts could reach 80 mph (129 kph).

The weather service warned of possible downed power lines and knocked-over big rigs, trailers, and motorhomes. Strong offshore gusts will also bring dangerous conditions off the coasts of Orange and Los Angeles counties, including Catalina Island, and potential delays and turbulence could arise at local airports.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it was temporarily relocating students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area due to the fire.

Utilities said they were considering preemptively cutting power starting Tuesday to about a half-million customers across eight counties. In recent years, California utilities have routinely de-energized electrical lines as a precaution against weather conditions that might damage equipment and spark a fire.

The winds will act as an “atmospheric blow-dryer” for vegetation, bringing a long period of fire risk that could extend into the more populated lower hills and valleys, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

“We really haven't seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one,” Swain said during a Monday livestream. “All of that extra abundant growth of grass and vegetation followed immediately by a wind event of this magnitude while it's still so incredibly dry," elevates the risk.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season.

Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, up north, there have been multiple drenching storms.

Areas where gusts could create extreme fire conditions include the charred footprint of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.

The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that added up to scorch more than 1,560 square miles (more than 4,040 square kilometers) in the Golden State last year.

The last wind event of this magnitude occurred in November 2011, during which more than 400,000 customers lost power across LA County, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The grid is built to withstand strong winds,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for the utility. “The issue here is the possibility of debris becoming airborne and hitting wires ... or a tree coming down.”

Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.