Last year’s offseason, Aaron Rodgers appeared on the I Can Fly podcast talking about different aspects of manhood. While describing the strength and chivalry factor, he dropped a gem: “I am a deep-feeler.“ You could tell that from those reports when he wanted to stay with the New York Jets and even pleaded with Aaron Glenn. But luck had other plans. And here we are. The Steelers have chosen him as their leader. The time is now when he takes his rightful place to end his legacy on a high.

Greg Olsen didn’t sugarcoat it on the August 27 episode of The Rich Eisen Show. When asked about Aaron Rodgers’ latest reset, the former tight end-turned-broadcaster shrugged off the easy narratives and dropped a phrase that should make 31 other franchises sit up straight: “dangerous proposition.” Because, let’s be honest, Rodgers’ New York chapter was messy.

One game lost to injury in 2023, a full but uneven return in 2024, and a mountain of finger-pointing that made him look more cooked than he actually was. Olsen cut through that fog. “I think people don’t appreciate, people think Aaron’s time in New York was probably worse than it actually was,” he said. “He was not nearly as bad as everyone thinks he was last year.”

The numbers back him up, nearly 3,900 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 picks on a team that couldn’t block, couldn’t run, and couldn’t get out of its own way. Not Rodgers at his peak. But by any other standard? Solid. And that, in Olsen’s mind, is exactly the point. “I think he was less good on the Aaron Rodgers scale of expectations, which for most quarterbacks, they would have taken his season last year.”

So why the warning? Because Rodgers isn’t just chasing competence. He’s chasing legacy. Olsen put it plainly, “A motivated Aaron Rodgers, a guy looking to say, ‘I know I’m late in my career, but I’m still the dude. I’m still an MVP and I can still carry an offense,’ that’s a dangerous proposition.”

This is where the story flips. The 41-year-old Rodgers may not have the legs he did in 2011, when he threw 45 touchdowns and posted a 122.5 rating. He may not match the 2020s’ near-perfect 48-TD renaissance. But the mindset? The edge? That’s still there. And Olsen’s betting that matters more than we realize.

Quarterbacks at the end often fade quietly. Rodgers doesn’t do quiet. He turns slights into fuel. It’s why Olsen’s words hang heavier than the standard studio chatter.

Ex-NFLer takes blame off Aaron Rodgers for failed NY stint

However, A-Rod’s past often comes up, particularly the last two seasons. Taylor Lewan didn’t bother dressing it up on the August 26 episode of Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. “From a personnel standpoint, Aaron Rodgers, when he goes to the Jets, everyone thinks he’s going to bring the Jets back to life. Fun fact, no one can bring the Jets back to life. They’re dead. They’re dying, they’re on life support.” That’s the kind of line that stings because, well, it hits too close to home.

The Jets weren’t a quarterback away. They were decades of dysfunction away. This is a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season, when Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez somehow strung together back-to-back AFC Championship appearances. Since then? Thirteen straight years without a postseason berth before Rodgers showed up, the longest active drought in the NFL.

So, when Rodgers walked into Florham Park in 2023, the expectation was one of savior status. One of the most decorated quarterbacks ever was supposed to do what no Jets QB has done since Joe Namath in 1969. Make New York matter in January. Instead, Rodgers lasted four snaps in his first year. In 2024, he played the full season, threw for nearly 3,900 yards, and 28 touchdowns. But the Jets still finished 5–12. A quarterback of his caliber put up numbers, but the team? Same story, same collapse.

Rodgers wasn’t the cure. He was just the latest experiment on a patient already flatlining. And when you look back at the Jets’ history since 2010, you start to realize why they’ve cycled through more quarterbacks than playoff appearances, churned through head coaches, and stacked double-digit loss seasons like clockwork.

Rodgers didn’t fail to save the Jets; he never had a chance. The organization was already on life support long before he arrived.