What’s next for Aaron Rodgers?

Ralph Philips, Sports Writer

Over the last 18 years, Aaron Rodgers has been the gold standard at the quarterback position in the NFL.  After this last season though, many people are asking, can Aaron Rodgers play at a high level consistently?

In the 2022-2023 season, Rodgers wasn’t his usual MVP-caliber self, as he only threw for 3695 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while only completing 64.6 percent of his passes. Needless to say,  this could be the end for Rodgers.

At the same time, we’ve seen something like this before from Rodgers. Back in 2018, Rodgers had a very similar season, as he only completed 62.8 percent of his passes, however, he threw for 4442 yards with 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions. After that season, Rodgers went off the next three years with two MVP awards and three Pro Bowl selections. 

We know Rodgers can still play, and this isn’t new, but the question now becomes where is he going to play this year? The top three teams people believe that he’ll go are the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, and the Indianapolis Colts. 

The landing spot most likely for Rodgers will be the Las Vegas Raiders. They released franchise quarterback Derek Carr after nine years. The team is looking to come back better than ever this year as they have lots of exciting and talented players like Maxx Crosby, Rodgers’s former teammate Davante Adams, and veteran Chandler Jones. This team can make some noise in the AFC West with the right quarterback, and that may be Aaron Rodgers.

The next spot is the New York Jets. The Jets last year looked really promising until down the stretch of the season when they didn’t get consistent quarterback play. The positives for Rodgers joining the Jets is they’re a team on the rise with AP Rookie Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver Garrett Wilson and talented young running backs in Breece Hall and Michael Carter. Plus, the Jets are building their offensive line and have former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was the offensive mastermind calling the plays to help Rodgers win back-to-back MVP awards. 

Finally, the last possible landing spot for Aaron Rodgers would be the Indianapolis Colts. Now, the Colts have a good core of franchise players in Shaquille Leonard and Johnathan Taylor. The issue for the Colts in recent years is that they have not had a franchise quarterback since Andrew Luck retired. Since 2019, the Colts have had five different quarterbacks start for them and none of them have been consistent. If Rodgers goes to the Colts, then they’ll be a real contender in the AFC. 

With those three teams looking for help at the quarterback position, and the fact that the Packers don’t seem to want Aaron Rodgers anymore, it’ll be something to see him don a different jersey other than the Packers’ green and yellow jersey.