Pat McAfee is used to being called out for the things he doesn’t ask Aaron Rodgers, but this time, the criticism is coming from one of his own.
Rodgers has repeatedly spoken about wanting to play multiple seasons with the New York Jets, discounting his first year that lasted just four plays before he tore his Achilles. But with the Jets stumbling to a 3-7 record and seeming much farther away from a Super Bowl than anyone could have imagined heading into the 2024 NFL season, it’s sparking new questions about whether the 40-year-old quarterback is thinking about retirement. Similarly, the Jets have to decide whether they would even be interested in bringing Rodgers back considering how old he’s looked and how poorly the team has played around him.
Rodgers joins The Pat McAfee Show every Tuesday, giving them the opportunity to ask questions about his future. But they didn’t. Leaving Jets beat reporters to handle the task.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rodgers was asked whether he wants to play in 2025, garnering an answer of “I think so.” It was far from an emphatic yes, but it did provide a little bit of insight into what he’s thinking.
Thursday afternoon, McAfee asked Hawk whether he thought Rodgers will return next season. Hawk didn’t have much to add about the playing future of his former Green Bay Packers teammate, but he praised the Jets reporters for doing what The Pat McAfee Show didn’t do earlier in the week.
“I was glad to see them ask him because I almost wanted to ask him the last time he was on,” Hawk said. “Didn’t really get to it, but I’m thinking, man, we should have asked him that.”
Hawk claimed he didn’t want to “bug my buddy” amid the Jets five-game losing streak to gauge whether he thought about next season yet, but someone from the show could have. Of all the topics The Pat McAfee Show is willing to broach with Rodgers, whether the 40-year-old quarterback is thinking about retirement is the thing that’s off limits? It wasn’t last year, when they talked about Rodgers coming back shortly after he suffered a season-ending injury.
In Rodgers’ defense, there are a lot of variables that make it nearly impossible to know whether or not he wants to come back next season. What if the Jets go 5-2 in their last seven games and decide to run it back with the same front office and coaching staff next season? What if they go 1-6 and clean house? There’s a realistic chance that Woody Johnson will be in the Trump administration next year, meaning a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers would be staring at the prospect of playing in a new offense with a new coach, general manager and owner.
Still, The Pat McAfee Show should have asked him about his playing future this week, and they still should ask it next week. McAfee’s show is Rodgers’ safe space. If Rodgers is going to give anyone more insight than an “I think so,” it’s going to be with McAfee.