The New York Jets have struggled in multiple areas this season, to say the least. One of the issues that wasn’t expected comes at the quarterback position—with a man named Aaron Rodgers.
At 41 years of age, Rodgers’s future is obviously in doubt, which has prompted a myriad of opinions. Add one more opinion into the pile, as former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma believes Rodgers should hang up the cleats after this season to stop from tarnishing his image.
When speaking with Kyle Odegard of SportsLens, the former Jets’ linebacker provided strong opinions on the current quarterback in New York.
“He should retire,” Vilma told Odegard. “I want to remember Aaron Rodgers as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. I just remember staying up late at night [and] shaking my head because you can’t stop him. You can slow him down, you can hope he would have an off day, but you [can’t] stop him … That’s how I want to remember him. I don’t want to remember him as this guy who doesn’t look like himself.”
And to be honest, Vilma has a point.
At times, the 41-year-old quarterback has looked like the future Hall of Fame player we saw play for the Green Bay Packers. However, there have been times when Rodgers has just not looked up to par playing in the NFL.
Whether that’s due to recovering from his Achilles or Father Time catching up to him, we’re starting to see the cracks in the armor of an all-time great player.
Remember, Vilma is familiar with the rigors of playing in the NFL at some age. When asked whether or not Rodgers can recognize if or when Father Time has caught up to him, he gave an insightful answer based on his own experience.
“Father time, man. It catches up with everyone,” Vilma added. “And it’s always the player that’s the last to notice when they’ve lost a step or they’re not as explosive, or they’re not throwing the ball as well, they look old. And so in Aaron Rodgers’ mind – I’ve been there – he thinks he’s still got it. You can’t tell him any differently because that’s the honest-to-God truth in his mind.”
We’ve started to see this firsthand, as Rodgers has reportedly suffered multiple injuries that wouldn’t have hindered the quarterback years ago. Even if Rodgers does get another offseason to recoup and recover, Vilma believes it’s just delaying the inevitable at his age.
“What we viewed as nagging injuries to start our career are serious injuries later on in our career, and he’s about to be in year 20,” Vilma said. “An ankle injury is a big deal for a 40-year-old quarterback, right? It’s not a big deal for a 25-year-old quarterback. Whatever other injuries are ailing him, they’re real issues because they just take longer to heal, and it obviously is affecting his play. So, I don’t look at it as a major injury and then he just needs time to heal up.”
The spectrum of what fans feel about Rodgers is all over the place. Age is undoubtedly a factor that can neither be ignored nor altered. While some fans believe that Rodgers can turn back the clock for another season, others, like Jonathan Vilma, believe it’s time for him to start looking towards a future without football.
