Aaron Rodgers sounded broken after Jets' blowout loss to Cardinals

It's hardly a stretch to suggest that Aaron Rodgers' New York Jets tenure is probably not going as he envisioned when he orchestrated his trade to the club from the Green Bay Packers in the spring of 2023.

Following a 31-6 loss at the Arizona Cardinals that dropped the Jets to 3-7 on Sunday, Rodgers sounded like a veteran quarterback who sees the writing on the wall regarding the overall state of his team. 

"There’s been a lot of emotions this year for sure," Rodgers told reporters after the defeat, as shared by Andy Vasquez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "I thought after a big win on Thursday night and a nice long week we were going to come out with a lot of energy and win the game. We didn’t come out with great energy on either side of the ball and offensively, you’re not going to beat anybody scoring six points."

Rodgers and Co. ended what had been a frustrating five-game losing streak via a 21-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Halloween night. That result coupled with the fact that New York had extra time to prepare for Sunday's game at Arizona made it so surprising that, in the words of interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets "were not prepared to play" against the Cardinals. 

Rodgers took a pay cut last summer before he suffered a campaign-ending torn Achilles four offensive snaps into New York's 2023 season opener. The 40-year-old then looked rusty across the team's first five games of the ongoing campaign before Jets owner Woody Johnson shockingly fired head coach Robert Saleh. New York has since gone 1-4 under Ulbrich. 

Neither the Jets changing their offensive play-caller nor the club acquiring star wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders in October resulted in Rodgers reclaiming his best form. According to ESPN stats, Rodgers began Monday ranked 23rd in the NFL with a 52.1 adjusted QBR and 23rd with an 86.8 passer rating for the season. 

Against the Cardinals, he completed 22-of-35 passes for a season-low 151 yards with zero touchdown drives. 

"It’s a lot of different emotions," Rodgers added after Sunday's defeat. "It seems like there’s a lot. That’s a loaded answer, but it’s not the time or the place to get into any of that right now. At some point, I’ll give you a better answer." 

Rodgers said this past summer he wanted to give the Jets "two great years" coming off his serious injury. One wonders if both he and Johnson will ultimately think twice about extending their relationship beyond Week 18 unless the Jets go on an incredible run en route to earning a playoff berth. 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed New York as a three-point favorite for this coming Sunday's home game against the 4-6 Indianapolis Colts.