Nov 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off the field against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

There’s nobody left at One Jets Drive to point fingers at.

It’s Woody Johnson and Aaron Rodgers — and despite how some New York Jets fans may feel, Johnson isn’t going anywhere. That leaves a soon-to-be 41-year-old Rodgers clearly over the hill and hampered by injuries to his lower half. The future Hall of Famer isn’t completely washed up, but he isn’t good enough at this stage in his career to mask deficiencies.

The Jets brought Rodgers in, thinking he could replace Zach Wilson and instantly give the team, which won seven games with the worst statistical quarterback in recent memory, some credit. They were sorely mistaken—and it’s cost Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas their jobs.

It might cost Rodgers his next.

But the team’s play-by-play voice, Bob Wischusen, isn’t so sure they have a better option.

“Logically, it’s possible. And I do think running it back with him next year could be a means to a different end,” Wischusen told host Brandon Contes during the most recent episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast. “Like, who’s the other quarterback option? Rather than just saying in a silo, ‘Do you run it back with Aaron Rodgers’? What’s choice B? Are you going to go sign Sam Darnold and bring him back? Who are the other free agent quarterbacks that could be out there that they could bring in that would be a better option than Aaron Rodgers?

“Where’s their draft choice? What if they lose the last six games? What if they have the No. 1 pick in the draft and they draft (Miami’s) Cam Ward?.. Whoever the new GM is, if that’s the way they go, falls in love with Cam Ward, ‘He’s our future,’ and then has the opportunity to say, ‘Sit him in Aaron Rodgers’ room for a year.’ It’s very beneficial to a young quarterback. Don’t go play right away, which is what they do.”

The Jets tried it with Mark Sanchez. They tried it with Geno Smith, though that was mostly because Rex Ryan prioritized winning a preseason game and ended up getting his starting QB — Sanchez — injured in the fourth quarter behind a makeshift offensive line. They also did it with Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson, too.

It worked until it didn’t.

“Any of those guys experiencing success right now — if they’re still in the league or playing at all — is experiencing that success somewhere else,” Wischusen explained. “They’ve gone through the meat grinder. They’ve got the armadillo skin now. They’ve made their mistakes with the Jets — and now they’ve gone elsewhere. Well, don’t do that. Let that guy learn and only put him out there the way they put Chad Pennington when he was ready to go play. That’s the last young quarterback that really was ready.

“I mean, Mark Sanchez won, yes, his first two years, but they didn’t win because of him. They won in spite of him. They had a great run game, a great defense and they did everything that they could to minimize his role. And then when it finally came time to say, ‘Alright, Mark, here are the keys to the car,’ they were like, ‘Ooh, he’s not ready for this.’ And they had to go all the way back to the way they tried to play before. But, now, it was too late because they tried to surround him with all these weapons. And it kind of fell apart and became a losing team.”

It’s Rodgers or a gamble on the draft and/or free agency. And based on The Athletic’s reporting, the Jets seem more willing to do the latter, even if it makes less sense.

“I would, again, endorse bringing Aaron Rodgers back if it meant the means to an end for the future,” Wischusen added. “There’s a very logical script where that could take place. But who are they drafting? Who else are they bringing in? There’s way too much uncertainty…  Say right now, Aaron Rodgers, next year, run it back and give it another try. And you also have to ask him honestly after this year, he does have to answer that question, ‘Do you want to do this again?'”

Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Bob Wischusen beginning Friday, Nov. 22. Subscribe to the show on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.