Aaron Rodgers has always been known as a “spiteful” quarterback, and that’s served him well throughout his career. That chip on his shoulder fueled him to four MVPs while he was with the Green Bay Packers. In a recent example, he was very clear that quickly making a comeback from the torn Achilles that stole his first season with the New York Jets was his goal — and he accomplished that goal.
This is the kid who was passed up on initially as a recruit and had to play JUCO football just to make a name for himself. Speaking of being passed up on, many had projected him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, which means many thought he was going to go to the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers instead fell to No. 24 to the Packers and the rest was history.
Rodgers never forgot that moment, though. After the draft, he was asked if he was disappointed the 49ers didn’t draft him and instead went with Alex Smith.
“Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me,” was Rodgers’ defiant response, per Jake Curtis of si.com.
Spite has always been a part of his game, and you can bet the 49ers were ultimately disappointed that they let him go. They got their revenge on him multiple times throughout his career in Green Bay, but that’s a different story for a different time. Let’s flash forward to 2024.
Now with the Jets facing an utterly disappointing 3-8 season that is threatening to diminish his legacy, Rodgers should once again be riding the spite train. Not only are the Jets horrible and he’s been far from the MVP quarterback he once was, but things have gotten so bad in New York that Rich Cimini of ESPN has reported that Jets owner Woody Johnson had called an internal meeting to discuss benching the future Hall of Fame quarterback. This happened after the Jets’ 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos. In that game, Rodgers completed just 24-of-42 passes for 225 yards, he was sacked five times and he finished with a passer rating of 72.
“One source, who attended the meeting, indicated that it was ‘said in jest in a provocative nature.’ Others in the meeting interpreted it differently,” Cimini reported. “One source said Johnson appeared to be serious, while another said, ‘If Woody really wanted Rodgers benched, he would’ve been benched.’”
Whether or not Rodgers knew of that meeting is still an open question, but we do know Rodgers will hear about this. In fact, the next time he talks to Pat McAfee (of ESPN, mind you) he’s likely to be asked about it.
Even Aaron Rodgers’ spite can’t fix the 2024 New York Jets
It’s also worth noting that two of the people who were at that meeting at the time have been fired. One of them was head coach Robert Saleh, who was fired after just five games. The other was general manager Joe Douglas, who Johnson fired at the start of Week 12.
If we know anything about Rodgers, we know he’s bound to hear this reporting and internalize it. He’ll certainly try to play it cool in public and he’s not going to go out and verbally attack the owner of the franchise he’s playing for. Privately, though, you can bet Rodgers is going to be pissed off about the fact that someone dare suggest benching him.
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Never mind that he’s having the worst statistical year of his career. Never mind that he’s about to be 41 years old and has lost a few steps. Never mind the Super Bowl he won with the Packers was nearly 15 years ago and he hasn’t been back to the big game since. This is Aaron freaking Rodgers we’re talking about. How dare somebody think about benching him.
Dollars to donuts, that’s a good take on what will likely be Rodgers’ internal dialogue this week. He’ll likely come out firing against the Seattle Seahawks after the Jets’ bye, and he may even finish the 2024 season looking more like himself. In fact, that’s a damn near guarantee, because again, Rodgers runs on spite. He’s gonna be pumped up to play these last six games.
The problem for the Jets? A 6-0 finish to end this season is unlikely and even then, they’re record would be 9-8 and they’d more than likely be on the outside looking in at the Wild Card. Meanwhile, they’d be losing valuable draft position for 2025 and any goodwill created in the last few weeks would be nil, because none of this is transferring into 2025. The Jets will have a new coach, they’ll have a new general manager, and they’ll likely have a new quarterback as well.
“Rodgers, who turns 41 on Dec. 2, has said he’d like to play in 2025, but that likely won’t be with the Jets. One source said he’d be ‘shocked’ if Johnson signs off on another year of Rodgers,” Cimini wrote.
Not even a pissed-off Aaron Rodgers can fix this 2024 disaster for the Jets, and that’s the most Jets thing ever.