Aaron Rodgers committed to Jets beyond 2023 NFL season?

There’s yet another sign that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is committed to playing for the New York Jets beyond the 2023 NFL season. 

“I love being around the young energy, the excitement,” Rodgers said while speaking with reporters on Thursday, per Rich Cimini of ESPN. “There’s a great feel to this team, guys who are young and super talented on their first contracts, many of them. … When you have so many great players on rookie deals, it’s pretty exciting, knowing you can do something. You’ve got a good window. It’s not just a one-year thing where you can be competitive, which is fun.”

Rodgers hinted throughout 2022 even after he signed a massive contract extension with the Green Bay Packers that he could retire at any time, and the future Hall of Famer who turns 40 years old in December apparently doesn’t plan on following in the footsteps of Tom Brady and playing until he’s 45. As recently as this past January, the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player indicated he could walk away from millions upon millions of dollars attached to his deal because “money is energy, and I have made a ton of it” off of football contracts, alone. 

However, Rodgers did say shortly after his trade from the Packers to the Jets became official that playing for Gang Green “isn’t a one-and-done in my mind.” Last week, former Jets quarterback and current “The NFL Today” analyst Boomer Esiason explained during his WFAN radio show that he believed Rodgers gave the Jets a “three-year commitment” largely to help the team out regarding salary-cap reasons “and things of that nature.”

During his Thursday comments, Rodgers was among several Jets players who openly embraced the goal of winning a Super Bowl as soon as February 2024. Jets fans likely would happily view Rodgers hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy following Super Bowl LVIII as an acceptable walk-off, but one wonders if he could call time on his career this coming winter if things go south and the Jets fail to meet the high expectations hovering over them this summer.