Aaron Rodgers Should Retire After 2024 Season

Aaron Rodgers nonetheless has it.

The 40-year-old turned again the clock on Thursday night time, carving up the New England Patriots’ protection to guide the New York Jets to a 24-3 victory. Rodgers accomplished 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

Rodgers’ stat line didn’t inform the entire story, although.

New England had hassle attending to Rodgers all night time, pressuring him typically, solely to see the 20-year NFL veteran use his legs to scramble out of hazard and hit an open man on the run. Passes had been crisp. Spreading the wealth seemed straightforward. It felt like we had been watching the Rodgers of previous.

There’s plenty of soccer left to be performed, but when Rodgers can replicate Thursday’s efficiency on a biweekly foundation—no less than—he’s going to place collectively one hell of a season.

And it ought to be his final if that’s the case.

Prefer it or not, Rodgers actually has nothing left to show. He’s a four-time MVP. He’s bought a Tremendous Bowl ring on his finger. He’s cemented himself as one of many best quarterbacks of all time.

Rodgers had his 2023 marketing campaign minimize remarkably quick when he tore his left Achilles after taking simply 4 snaps in New York’s season opener in opposition to the Buffalo Payments. Now right here he’s, on the age of 40, trying spry as ever.

Watching Rodgers put collectively a powerful season and doubtlessly lead the Jets to a playoff berth—or higher but, a championship—on the heels of a season-ending Achilles damage earlier than driving off into the sundown is the proper ending.

New York isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the favourite to go all the way in which by any means, however we should always get to see Rodgers for no less than one playoff recreation.

Suppose Rodgers has himself a season for the ages, then opts to maintain taking part in. How do you probably go up from there? You don’t. If we’re fortunate in that state of affairs, Rodgers doesn’t present all that a lot regression in 2025 and simply sort of falls to the wayside, finally hanging up the cleats in a yr or two.

However Father Time is undefeated. And one thing tells us {that a} 41-year-old Rodgers could be a reasonably favorable matchup for him. Damage might finish Rodgers’ profession as soon as and for all, or we might see a shell of a person who as soon as threw for 48 touchdowns in opposition to simply 5 picks in a single season.

I don’t learn about you, however that’s not how I need to bear in mind one of the gifted signal-callers of this technology.

Granted, all of that is fairly straightforward for me to say, sitting in entrance of my laptop computer, typing, one thing I might do till I’m 85. Writing has a protracted shelf life. A number of careers do. Soccer doesn’t. So, I reckon it’s fairly laborious to step away from it while you’re nonetheless succeeding. 

Nevertheless, if the prospect to exit on prime presents itself, you may as nicely take it.