Heading into Week 18, the question that naturally loomed large over the New York Jets-Miami Dolphins season finale was whether it would be the final career game for Aaron Rodgers.
We likely won’t know that answer for weeks or months down the road considering he recently admitted that he “needs a mental break” from after the team’s Week 18 game.
But if Rodgers does ultimately want to play in 2025, Fox color analyst Greg Olsen seems to believe that Rodgers’ impressive performance in Week 18 may go a long way in garnering some interest from teams around the league.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, Fox color analyst Olsen detailed that he believes this was the best Aaron Rodgers has played all season long and that teams around the league were taking “very close note” of his performance in the season finale.
“We have talked a lot about can he still play,” Olsen said of Rodgers. “Can he move? Can he do all of the physical things? Coming into today, he had five touchdown passes through 17 weeks where he was under pressure or on the move. He has thrown four today, which is the most by any quarterback the entire season.
“So the element of his game that has always made him special. The question was had he lost it? Well, in this one game sample size… And we have seen it other times throughout the season. This is the best version of Aaron Rodgers we’ve seen all year. And I promise you, there’s a lot of teams around the league that are taking very close note.”
“This is the best version of Aaron Rodgers we’ve seen all year. And I promise you, there’s a lot of teams around the league that are taking very close note.” – Greg Olsen 🏈🎙️ #NFL pic.twitter.com/m3N8MtSXV3 https://t.co/98jYa2AFoR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 6, 2025
As Olsen alluded to, Rodgers saved perhaps his best performance of the season for last, throwing for four touchdowns in the team’s 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins.
If teams were indeed watching Rodgers closely throughout his Week 18 performance, they likely left with an impression that Rodgers may still have plenty to offer. In many ways, Rodgers had flashes of his vintage MVP-level play on Sunday, making plays with his legs and systematically picking apart the Dolphins defense.
It has of course been reported previously that it is unlikely that Rodgers returns to play for the Jets. Even ESPN’s Rex Ryan, who is set to interview for the Jets vacant head coaching position, confidently said on Sunday that Rodgers will not be back in New York next year.
This means that Rodgers will need to find another organization that is willing to take a chance on him if he is waived by the Jets should he opt not to retire this coming offseason.
Teams interested in a veteran quarterback are likely going to take far more than just Rodgers’ Week 18 game into account when they decide whether they want to bring him in or not. But at the very least, Rodgers left quarterback-needy teams with a positive impression heading into the offseason.
