Aaron Rodgers gives ultimatum on Jets future as source says Woody Johnson’s mind is made up about quarterback

Aaron Rodgers is happy to return to the New York Jets next season. Just don’t ask him to audition for the job.

‘If they want me to stay, fantastic,’ Rodgers said Wednesday. ‘If it takes these five games, maybe they don’t know what I bring to the table.’

‘But that being said I’d love to play really friggin’ well the last five games.’

Rodgers, who turned 41 on Monday, has struggled with his production and health while the Jets have limped to a 3-9 start. He is, however, under contract for next season at a salary-cap figure of $23.5 million, which will be about 9 percent of the team’s potential payroll for the season.

One source told ESPN’s Rich Cimini they’d be ‘shocked’ if owner Woody Johnson agreed to bring Rodgers back in 2025. Meanwhile, NFL Network reported that Rodgers will need a strong finish to get a chance at returning next season.

The Super Bowl winner has dealt with leg injuries — a sprained ankle, a sore knee and a tweaked hamstring — for much of the season. But he came out of the bye-week break feeling the healthiest he had in weeks. Still, he was inconsistent in a 26-21 loss to Seattle and couldn’t lead New York on a winning drive on its final possession.

That had some speculating that the Jets could bench Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor to perhaps spark the offense. Instead, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said he was sticking with Rodgers as the starter as long as he’s healthy, and the quarterback said during his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Tuesday his goal is to finish the season on the field — despite the team’s woeful record.

‘That’s what you do when you’re a professional and the most important ability you can have is availability, which I wasn’t available last year,’ Rodgers said Wednesday, referring to going down with a torn Achilles tendon four snaps into his Jets debut. ‘So I’d love to play the games and I love playing football. I’m hyper-competitive and I love to be out there with the guys.’

He refused to use the injuries as an excuse for his subpar performance this season, saying he feels good enough to play if he’s on the field. While Rodgers has thrown for 2,627 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight interceptions, his 6.3 yards-per-pass attempt is the lowest of his career as a starter.

Rodgers said a few weeks ago that he thought he’d like to play next year, but recently amended that to say he wasn’t sure. He said health would be a major factor — and if he did decide to play in 2025, the Jets would be his first choice.

There’s doubt as to whether the Jets will want him back as they rebuild with a new general manager and coach next season after the firings of Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh. Rodgers said some people have told him they hope he’ll return, but ‘not the people who are making those decisions.’

That drew some laughs, but Rodgers said there will certainly be conversations — eventually — to determine his next move.

‘I just redid my house here in Jersey,’ Rodgers said. ‘My goal was to play a few more years here, but we’ll see. I’d like to be healthy, I’d like to end on my feet and then I’d like to play well and I’d like to feel like I’m wanted back. If not, again, I will not be offended. I won’t be upset. I’ll be so thankful, either way whatever happens here.

‘But I’ve got to be healthy mentally, physically, and then there’s got to be interest on both sides. And if that’s not the case, then I’ll look at other options. But first, I’ll think about whether I’d actually want to play or not, but it usually takes a good month to get away from it, which I’ll do the first month and then we’ll see what happens.’

During his appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ Rodgers highlighted the Detroit Lions — who were 3-13-1 in Dan Campbell’s first year as coach in 2021 and are now tied with Kansas City for the best record in the NFL at 11-1 — as a team that benefited from patient and supportive ownership.

After practice Wednesday, Rodgers was asked about those comments and whether he thinks the Jets have been similarly supportive.

‘Is that a rhetorical question?’ he responded before explaining he was just citing an example. He added that he also saw support and a lack thereof at times during his 18 years in Green Bay.

When asked if he felt there was support from Jets ownership, Rodgers said: ‘I’d have to look. I don’t follow a lot of stuff. I’d have to ask you guys: Has there been a lot of public, supportive comments?’

A reporter responded by pointing out the Jets’ coach and GM firings.

‘Yeah,’ Rodgers said, ‘so there’s your answer.’