Insider asks whether Aaron Rodgers returns to Jets in 2025

Hall of Famer Brett Favre left Green Bay and played one full season for the Jets before nearly leading the Vikings to a Super Bowl in 2009. Could Aaron Rodgers also play just one full season for the Jets? It’s a question spawned by this week’s demotion of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, following Woody Johnson’s post-London termination of Robert Saleh.

Yahoo! Sports NFL insider Charles Robinson had an interesting answer to whether Rodgers continues to wear the Jets logo on his helmet next season.

“Todd Downing taking over play-calling duties and what that says to you is, Woody gave the job, the interim title, to Jeff Ulbrich and he told Jeff Ulbrich, ‘Do what you want to do,’” Robinson said Friday on the Inside Coverage podcast. “’And if that means you’ve got to demote Nathaniel Hackett, we’re not going to worry about what Aaron thinks. Or, we’ll make sure Aaron’s not going to lose it if we do this.’”

Robinson believes Ulbrich has control of the organization, especially with general manager Joe Douglas in the final year of his contract, and Johnson wasn’t afraid to define the power structure before the Jets (2-3) host Buffalo (3-2) on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). Robinson emphasized that Rodgers still has plenty of influence, despite Hackett’s demotion.

“What if this doesn’t work,” Robinson asked. “I don’t want to say you’ve moved off of Rodgers, but you’ve done something that pushes back. … What if it doesn’t change? What if it doesn’t get better? What if they get blown out against Buffalo on Monday night and this team starts to spiral and go into a hole? Does that mean the end of Aaron Rodgers? Are we talking about, ‘Is this it?’ Is this sort of the last attempt to try and save this situation? And if it doesn’t work, we’re going to be looking at Woody Johnson going, ‘Maybe they’re just going to blow this thing up now.’”

But “now” is Oct. 12, and let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still OK for Jets fans to believe again, with at least 12 regular-season games remaining. Rodgers is still a legitimate Comeback Player of the Year candidate, the Jets are only a game behind the first-place Bills in the division and can claim that perch with a win on Monday. What’s more, Robinson spoke to sources in the Jets organization optimistic that not only Rodgers returns in 2025, but Ulbrich and Douglas as well.

“If this turns around and there’s momentum and this team, if they’re in the right direction and all of the sudden everybody’s feeling good and they’re winning games, maybe you make the playoffs. One source who’s very dialed in, in that building, said to me, ‘I think there’s a chance that all three of them – Ulbrich, Joe Douglas and Aaron Rodgers – are back in 2025.’ It’s all about how this ultimately finishes.”

But before they can finish, the Jets have to start. And starting Monday, Downing and Rodgers would love to start by scoring points in the first half. During Saleh’s tenure (2021-24), opponents have outscored the Jets by 267 points in the first two quarters, worst in the NFL.

Downing has three years of play-calling experience, as the offensive coordinator in Tennessee (2021-22) and with the Raiders (2017), where some believed Downing was in over his head. He’s worked closely with quarterbacks Matthew Stafford in Detroit, Derek Carr in Oakland and Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee.