It's Tuesday, so you know what that means: beleaguered New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on the Pat McAfee Show. And of course, McAfee had to ask him about his mindset after Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich clarified, amid benching rumors, that the veteran will in fact start against the Miami Dolphins in Week 14.
"Coach Ulbrich came out and said you're a starter," McAfee starts. "And that's an interesting situation, obviously, that that's even taking place, but that's happening because of all the reports ... . Where are you mentally at with this season, with the New York Jets, and how are you framing the rest of the way here?"
Rodgers replies: "I just want to finish off as well as we can. Been a rough season. A lot of opportunities to win games that we didn't get the job done fourth quarter. Some of those games were won and lost in maybe the first, second, and third quarter, if you go back to some of the important impact plays, which again was the case on Sunday, but when you have the chance to win the fourth quarter and you come up short, it's always a little extra disappointing."
"But listen, we get paid for 17 weeks. Not 10, not 11, not 5. So if you're the starter you want to play all the games. That's how I feel, I want to be out there with my guys in battle so long as I feel healthy. Body feels as good as it's felt, whether fortunately or unfortunately, for the situation. Body feels great, I want to be out there. I want to be out there with the guys, I want to battle. I have a lot of pride in playing. One of my goals this year coming back from the Achilles [injury] was to play all 17 games, and I assumed that would be 17 plus whatever playoff games we played in. Obviously, that hasn't been the case this year. But we've still got five games left and would love to be out there battling with the guys."
Watch that moment below:
"It's been a rough season but I wanna finish strong..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 3, 2024
I wanna be out there with my guys and battle"@AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/4UyABew2ud
The Jets have had a terrible and truly chaotic year, with their 3–9 record and the firing of both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. The 41-year-old Rodgers, meanwhile, is having one of his worst years at quarterback, despite being surrounded by the talented likes of Garret Wilson, Breece Hall, and former Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams. On Sunday, he threw for just 185 yards (and a pick-six) in a 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Of seasons that he has played 10 games or more, this is his worst in terms of QBR (87.5).
So yes, Rodgers wants to play, but given his underwhelming performance all season, will he? Only time will tell.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers Expresses Strong Desire to Start Remaining Jets Games.
