NY Jets insider believes Aaron Rodgers is gone after the 2024 season

The future of Aaron Rodgers and the NY Jets is highly uncertain following the team's disappointing 2-5 start to the season. The plan has been for the Jets to operate in roughly a two-year window with Rodgers as their quarterback, but the Rodgers experiment might not last beyond this year.

ESPN's Rich Cimini is among those who believe 2024 will be Rodgers' last season with the Jets. The Jets insider said on his podcast this week that he doesn't see any scenario in which Rodgers "would come back" to play for the Jets in 2025.

Cimini went on to note that this wasn't necessarily based on anything he had been told. Instead, Cimini was just "reading the tea leaves," factoring in the Jets' struggles and Rodgers' injuries.

Rodgers is currently dealing with four different injuries as the Jets enter their Week 8 game against the New England Patriots. Robert Saleh has already been fired, and Joe Douglas could be next if the Jets fail to make a late-season run at the playoffs.

If that happens, Rodgers could join them.

Is Aaron Rodgers playing his final season with the NY Jets?

The Jets knew that their window of opportunity with Rodgers was limited when they initially traded for him in the 2023 offseason. Unfortunately, that window got even smaller following Rodgers' Achilles injury in his first game with the team.

Rodgers will turn 41 years old later this year, and while he's still performing at a league-average level, the age and injuries have caught up to him. His mobility is drastically limited compared to his pre-Achilles self and he appears more uncomfortable and hesitant in the pocket.

If the Jets miss the playoffs for a 14th consecutive season and fire their current regime, why would a 41-year-old Rodgers want to return in 2025? Better yet, why would any new regime want to be tied to an aging Rodgers entering what would likely be his final season?

Rodgers is under contract through 2025, but the Jets can move on by designating him as a post-June 1 cap casualty. They would still be forced to eat a significant chunk of dead cap, but it's a possibility.

There's every chance Rodgers also chooses to retire, an outcome that seems even more likely than simply releasing him. Rodgers might not want to go out with a losing season, but he might not have a choice.

The Jets still have an opportunity to turn their season around and make a belated playoff push, but their backs are against the wall. The current trajectory has the Jets missing the playoffs for a 14th straight year and reevaluating their strategy in the offseason.

The Aaron Rodgers era might be coming to an end sooner than any Jets fan would've hoped. This could end up being his lone season as the team's starting quarterback.

More NY Jets news and analysis: