Jets sticking with Aaron Rodgers as QB questions mount

There has been plenty of change around the Jets lately, but there is no change at quarterback coming … at least this week. 

Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said that Aaron Rodgers will “absolutely” be the team’s starting quarterback on Sunday against the Seahawks. 

Rodgers’ status for the final six games of the season has become a source of speculation amid reports that the team could be looking to move on from the future Hall of Famer.

Ulbrich was asked if there has been any talk of shutting Rodgers down. 

“There has not,” Ulbrich said. 

Rodgers, who turns 41 next week, has had one of the worst seasons of his career. He has looked reluctant to throw the ball downfield and has not looked comfortable running.

Rodgers has been dealing with hamstring, knee and ankle injuries since a Week 4 loss to the Broncos but has said he feels healthy lately.

He also has practiced fully on the team’s last two Wednesday practices, something he had not been doing while injured. 

Still, there have been reports suggesting he may be more injured than he is letting on.

The NFL Network reported over the weekend that Rodgers has not wanted to get imaging tests done on his injuries to avoid learning of the severity of them so he could keep playing. 

Ulbrich said he was unaware if that was true. 

“I have not been informed of that either way,” Ulbrich said. “That’s news to me.” 

Ulbrich said he believes Rodgers feels healthier coming out of last week’s bye week than he has in a while. 

“You’d have to ask Aaron if he’s fully healthy, but he’s better off today than he’s been as of late,” Ulbrich said. “He’s definitely feeling healthier than he has for probably the last month. A healthy Aaron Rodgers is the Aaron Rodgers we all love. I’m excited about what that looks like.” 

Rodgers is scheduled to appear on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday afternoon and surely will be asked about his healthy and these reports. 

This is just the latest adversity for the 2024 Jets in a season no one could have imagined.

The Jets returned to work Monday for the first time since general manager Joe Douglas was fired.

The Jets announced they are beginning their search for a new GM and head coach and have hired The 33rd Team to assist them.

While ownership and upper management has moved onto 2025, the Jets players and coaches are left to make what they can out of the end of the 2024 season, starting Sunday against the Seahawks. 

“As a player and a coach in this league, and I know from over 20 years of being in it, there is no context to tape,” Ulbrich said. “When people evaluate tape they don’t look at your record, they don’t look at the score of the game. They could care less about any of that. All they look at is the tape. The tape is a reflection of me. It’s a reflection of every single player in that locker room. It’s a reflection of all of us. It’s a reflection of the organization. We decide how we finish the season. We decide how we’re judged based upon that tape.” 

Jets veteran tackle Morgan Moses said the players can’t worry about anything beyond this week. 

“They’ve got a lot of stuff to figure out upstairs but for us right now is to control the things that we can control in the locker room and that’s going out there and putting on a good performance against Seattle,” Moses said. 

“We’re going to go out there and bust some ass on Sunday.”