May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) participates in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Aaron Rodgers Exposes Dark Reality of Jets Era Before Mike Tomlin Restored His Love for Football 1
Aaron Rodgers has spent the past year reflecting on one of the hardest stretches of his 22-season career, and he finally explained what pulled him out of it. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback opened up about a period that nearly changed how he felt about the game itself. Rodgers, who turns 43 in December, has played 22 NFL seasons across stops in Green Bay, New York and Pittsburgh.
The comments came during a weekend radio interview, just weeks before Rodgers begins what he has called his final NFL season.
Aaron Rodgers reveals Jets tenure hurt his love for football
Rodgers spent two seasons with the New York Jets in 2023 and 2024, a stretch defined by a torn Achilles in his very first series and a rocky year of rehab that followed. He has described the period as one that wore him down mentally. The Jets finished 5-12 in Rodgers’ first season back from the injury and stumbled to a 7-9 finish in his second, firing head coach Robert Saleh partway through 2024.
The comments resurfaced widely this week after being highlighted in this post, drawing renewed attention to Rodgers’ comments about his Jets years.
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May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) participates in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Rodgers was asked how he could walk away from a game he loves. “I do love it, yeah,” Rodgers said. He explained that after 22 NFL seasons and three in college, he has never had an offseason fully to himself.
Rodgers said the Achilles injury and the year of rehab that followed never let him feel fully like himself, a stretch he did not want defining the end of a career he has loved since childhood. He has said he wants to start a family with his wife once his playing days end, calling it part of the reason this season will be his last.
Mike Tomlin helped fully restore Rodgers’ passion for football
Rodgers has repeatedly credited Tomlin’s culture with turning things around during his lone season under him so far. He has gone as far as publicly defending Tomlin against outside criticism this past season, a sign of how much trust has built between the two.
That trust extended through the 2025 campaign, when Tomlin kept the team on track even through injuries to Rodgers during the year, guiding Pittsburgh to a 10-7 record, an AFC North title and a playoff berth before a wild-card exit. Tomlin stepped down after that season, ending a 19-year run without a losing record. The Steelers have not confirmed whether Tomlin will remain involved with the organization in any capacity going forward.
Mike McCarthy, Rodgers’ longtime coach in Green Bay, now leads Pittsburgh into the 2026 season, giving the quarterback’s farewell campaign an unexpected full-circle feel. Rodgers has said there is zero debate about this being his final year in the league. Rodgers threw for 66,274 yards and 527 touchdowns across his career entering this season, numbers that rank among the best in NFL history regardless of how his farewell campaign unfolds.
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