Bill Belichick: Aaron Rodgers ‘Could Easily Rebound’ in 2025 After Jets Struggles

Six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick believes Aaron Rodgers “could easily rebound” in 2025 following his turbulent season with the 3-9 New York Jets.

“(Rodgers) could easily rebound from that and be ready to play and have a good year next year,” Belichick said on the Let’s Go! podcast, via Pro Football Talks’ Mike Florio. “You look at all the quarterbacks in the league that are kind of on their second teams and they’re doing pretty well, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith and (Sam) Darnold, Baker Mayfield, you go right down the line, (Matthew) Stafford for that matter, Jared Goff. These guys that switch teams, they get in a different system, things are a little bit different for them, maybe they learn some things from whatever it was their previous experiences were. It changes. When a guy has a long career and a good career, sometimes one season is just a bump in the road. It’s not necessarily the end of the road.”

Rodgers is averaging just 222 yards per game, his second-lowest total in a season where he started seven or more games and is also posting a career-low 4.5 rushing yards per game.

Belichick’s speculation is informed by his extensive experience watching an aging quarterback navigate the struggles of deciding when to retire, having spent 20 years with Tom Brady, who retired at 44.

“I think that’s one of the toughest things to do as a coach in professional football, is to figure out when that right time is or isn’t,” Belichick said, per Florio. “One thing you run into sometimes with players as they age in their career is the injury factor. And sometimes players can have an injury at the later point in their career and make it look like maybe it’s an age problem when actually it was an injury problem. And then once that injury clears up, then there’s a lot more good football left in that player.”

Despite Belichick’s beliefs, many players around the league feel that Rodgers’ age is impacting his performance on the field.

Following the Jets’ 26-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Seattle defensive lineman Leonard Williams told reporters that Rodgers, as an older player, “doesn’t want to take big hits anymore.”

One source close to Rodgers’ situation echoed Williams’ statement, saying, “(he) can still throw it, but I think the hits hurt more than they used to,” according to Florio.

All of this comes amid speculation that if Belichick returns to coaching next season, he could team up with Rodgers for one last ride.