Coach Robert Saleh said Friday he would be “shocked” if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t play multiple years for the Jets. Rodgers would be, too.
The quarterback told ESPN Radio on Friday that an injury or a Super Bowl win this season might change his mind, but he plans on playing multiple years with the Jets.
“The Jets gave up a lot for me, so to play just one year. I think, would be a disservice,” Rodgers said on the DiPietro & Rothenberg Show, via Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “Now, if that one year turns out to be a magical year, who knows? But it’s more than that: It’s how my body feels.”
Rodgers, 39, made changes to his diet and his workout routine this offseason as he got ready for the grind of a 19th NFL season, his first with the Jets. He has eliminated all fruits and processed food, mostly eating protein.
“The last couple of months my body has been feeling really good,” Rodgers said. “Now talk to me in three to four months. We’ll see how it feels, but the way I feel now, I think I could play a number of years.”
Rodgers’ indecision about his future the past two offseasons had prompted questions about how long his tenure with the Jets will last.
Rodgers determined he wanted to continue playing this season only after a darkness retreat this winter, and he made clear it would be with the Jets. That set in motion the blockbuster trade that finally happened April 26.
Now, the Jets are counting their blessings.
Everyone with the Jets, including Rodgers, believes their window to contend is more than one year. That’s part of the reason Rodgers intends to play multiple seasons in New York.
“I don’t even want to back him into a corner and make him commit to something like that,” Saleh said of Rodgers committing to play beyond 2023. “I just want him to have fun and know that when he walks in this building to let loose, have a little fun, BS with the guys, come in the office and talk to us and just enjoy playing football.
“Odds are if you enjoy playing football, you’re going to want to keep doing that.”