Aaron Rodgers has always been one of the best quarterbacks in the league since he took over for Brett Favre in 2008.
He won Super Bowl 45, was named Super Bowl MVP and won four MVPs including back-to-back awards in 2020 and 2021.
Rodgers had what some would say “ A down year” in 2022. With a passer rating of 91.1 and 3,695 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Rodgers dealt with injuries all year long. He suffered a broken thumb to his throwing hand and injured his ribs and still managed to put up those numbers.
After Rodgers was traded to the Jets, he was set to make his season debut in Week 1 on Monday Night Football against the division-rival Bills. But as we all know, Rodgers’ season was cut short after just four snaps when he tore his Achilles. The Jets finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season.
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As the 2024 season draws nearly, many pundits have begun to rank their top quarterbacks. What Rodgers will look like in 2024 remains to be seen.
He’ll be 41 in December playing in his 20th NFL season coming off a major lower-body injury. Rodgers didn’t even know if he’d come back from a torn Achilles. The Jets added a lot of pieces around him to hopefully support Rodgers’ return to top-10 form.
Several NFL analysts believe Rodgers will bounce back in 2024 and lead the Jets to the postseason and reclaim his spot as a top-10 quarterback in the league.
Pro Football Focus’s Trevor Sikkema ranked Rodgers eighth — one sport lower than Super Bowl LVI winner Matthew Stafford and one spot higher than Eagles star Jalen Hurts.
“Who knows what Rodgers will look like in 2024 coming off his Achilles injury?” Sikkema wrote. “But if you don’t take the toll of Father Time too far into consideration, Rodgers won MVP in 2020 and 2021, so just one season of play separates him from that back-to-back run. If he’s fully healthy, he has to remain a top-10 quarterback heading into the year. His resume demands it until we see otherwise.”
Another analyst, Dakota Randall of Pro Football Network, also kept Rodgers at a high rank and put him at No. 10 in the NFL.
“Nobody questions Aaron Rodgers’ ability,” Randall wrote. “The doubts center around his age (40), recent injury history, and mercurial personality. Rodgers is as capable of leading the Jets to the Super Bowl next season as he is dragging them into a lost campaign. He still is a top-10 quarterback, but he’s fading.”
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports didn’t rank Rodgers in the top 10 but did put the Jets quarterback at No. 11. Rodgers is one spot behind his predecessor in Green Bay, Jordan Love.
“If he’s upright, he may well remain a top-five player at the position, capable of maximizing the Jets ‘ playoff-caliber lineup,” Benjamin wrote. “But there is a lot of mystery here; Rodgers isn’t just 40 and coming off a season lost to a serious injury, but he arguably also hasn’t posted elite marks in three year.”
Rodgers began his first organized team activities practice following his Achilles surgery in September without any restrictions. It should help, too, that, added four new offensive linemen as well as wide receivers Mike Williams and Malachi Corley. Those new faces should only make life easier for Rodgers and the Jets’ young cast of 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and star running back; Breece Hall. The Jets have an arsenal of weapons for Rodgers to use in 2024.
The Jets will open up the season on the road against the 49ers on Monday Night Football. Rodgers will have an instant opportunity to show that he still is a top-10 quarterback in the league.
All eyes will be on No. 8 this season. Rodgers is the main reason the Jets have seven standalone games in 2024. It’s his time to prove once again how good of a player he can be in the NFL.