Despite being one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Aaron Rodgers may become a bit of a journeyman at the end of his career. His first year with the New York Jets was a disaster as he missed all but one game due to injury.
His second season was even worse as the team went 5-12 while the head coach and general manager got fired. The Jets now plan to release Rodgers this offseason so he’ll be a free agent for the first time in his career.
There are plenty of teams that need quarterbacks and could use him. Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated believes the Las Vegas Raiders are one of those teams.
“Like the Steelers, the Raiders are expected to be searching for a new quarterback during the offseason,” Rasmussen wrote in a Feb. 10 column. “Their tandem of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell provided mostly poor results throughout the season, and while they’re expected to be considering picking a quarterback early in the 2025 draft, the team may prefer to test free agency due to a weaker crop of QBs in the draft.
“Rodgers, of course, would be a sensible fit for a one-year deal in Las Vegas. The Raiders have an abundance of cap space––over $85 million and the second most in the NFL––and it’s possible they elect to wait on drafting a quarterback until 2026 and roll the dice with Rodgers next year in Pete Carroll’s first season as head coach.”
Would Aaron Rodgers Want to Go to Raiders?
There’s no denying that 2024 was a down year for Rodgers. However, a down year for him is still better than a lot of quarterbacks. He threw 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions to go with 3,897 passing yards. He was also coming off a major injury and the Jets aren’t a very stable franchise.
That could be the problem with a potential Raiders pursuit of Rodgers. Now that the Washington Commanders are good again, there’s an argument that the Jets and Raiders are the two least stable franchises in the NFL.
Neither team has won a playoff game in over a decade and has gone through a ton of head coaches and general managers. Now, one thing that could appeal to Rodgers is that the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as head coach. He’s a proven winner and a coach players like to play for. Maybe that’ll be enough for him to consider the Raiders.
Can Raiders Win With Rodgers?
Rodgers is going to turn 42 during the 2025 season and is already on the decline. He’s likely not good enough to get a team like the Raiders to a Super Bowl.
That said, he would be a big upgrade over Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Plus, Brett Favre had an underwhelming stint with the Jets after leaving the Green Bay Packers only to return to MVP form the following season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Perhaps Rodgers could have a similar career arc to the quarterback he replaced. In the right situation, Rodgers could still have a big season. If the Raiders can build up the offensive line more and keep Rodgers protected, it’s easy to see them going on a playoff run with the future Hall of Famer running the offense.
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