Jets QB Aaron Rodgers knows he has a lot to prove this season

Aaron Rodgers knows that his time in the NFL is dwindling. He also knows that he and the New York Jets sort of have their backs against the wall.

General manager Joe Douglas made the big move of trading with the Green Bay Packers for Rodgers last offseason and every move made from that moment was to cater to Rodgers' needs as a quarterback.

The four-time MVP, of course, only played four snaps due to a torn Achilles suffered during his first drive of the season, which leaves both him and the Jets in somewhat of a strange position heading into 2024.

He'll turn 41 in December and he's coming off a major injury. If Rodgers can't turn it around — and the odds are against him despite his usual greatness — Douglas' gamble to bring him to New York will undoubtedly be looked at as a failure.

That could cost Douglas his job, and head coach Robert Saleh's employment likely wouldn't survive another bad season either.

"If I don't do what I know I'm capable of doing, we're all probably going to be out of here," Rodgers said on Tuesday after a team OTA, per ESPN. "I like that kind of pressure, though."

Rodgers may like the pressure, but even he knows that he's expendable despite the fact that he's a future Hall of Famer.

"As you get older in the league, if you don't perform, they're going to get rid of you or bring in the next guy to take over," he said. "I mean, it happened in Green Bay, and I'm a few years older than I was back then."

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Rodgers is a lock to get a gold jacket one day, but there is his legacy to consider.

He only has one Super Bowl win and that was in 2010-11. He does have a 12-10 playoff record, but the lasting memories of his recent playoff games have been losing to the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 and 2022 (in the NFC championship and NFC divisional round, respectively) with a NFC championship loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sandwiched in between.

That's not to mention his last game as a Packer saw him throw a game-sealing interception. In fact, that was his last pass as a Packer.

Come to think of it, Rodgers has a ton to prove in 2024.

"I don't want to go out as a bum, so that's why I put the work in and believe in my abilities," Rodgers said. "I look forward to getting back to where I was last year. When I play well, I think all the individual possibilities for recognition would be great. But if I play the way I'm capable of playing, we'll be playing for a lot more than that."