“It takes a career, a lifetime, to build up a reputation, and only one misstep for it all to crumble.” This idea of Aaron Rodgers will be put to the test in this 2024 season. With four MVPs and one Super Bowl in his career, the New York Jets quarterback is eyeing a Super Bowl this year for the team that won the Lombardi in 1969. But, the league has some tough competition in the form of 3x Super Bowl Champ Patrick Mahomes, skilled Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and others. So, will he be able to achieve it?

Although Rodgers has claimed that this year his team will be the one to look for, the ground reality will only be revealed from September 9 onwards. As he moves forward this season with the Super Bowl as his aim, A-Rod needs to ensure that he achieves it by all possible means. If he doesn’t, his ‘GOAT’ or ‘legendary’ status might be snatched from him. And the criticism has already begun! The podium was taken by Tom Brady’s former running back who delivered some harsh “underachiever” comments.

A situation of do-or-die for Aaron Rodgers

In a recent episode of SPEAK on August 2, 2024, Joy Taylor, James Jones, LeSean McCoy and T.J. Houshmandzadeh reacted to Aaron Rodgers’ New Orleans Super Bowl win idea, as well as dived into whether he is a ‘GOAT’ or not! McCoy, who has played with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City (2019) and Tom Brady in Tampa Bay (2020), questioned A-Rod’s status, which left Rodgers’ former teammate Jones stunned. McCoy expressed, “We put him [Rodgers] in that as a goat of the goats and he’s not. Because they, other goats, are not like this.”

Despite Rodgers’ impressive four MVP awards, McCoy expressed that he doesn’t measure up to legends like Tom Brady and Joe Montana, especially considering his 21-year career. He highlighted that there is no doubt Rodgers is undeniably talented, with even other NFL quarterbacks marveling at his skills during a recent flag football tournament. However, the argument is that despite being talented, “he’s probably like one of the biggest underachievers that we’ve ever seen in the NFL.”

McCoy pointed out that while Rodgers has excelled in the regular season, he has only made one Super Bowl appearance in his long career. This lack of championships, in McCoy’s view, makes it disrespectful to compare Rodgers to the true greats of the game. He emphasized that when we talk about Brady, Montana, Peyton Manning, and other legendary QBs, we talk about their championships. But whenever we talk about Rodgers, “we change it for some reason,” and praise his talent and throws.

According to McCoy, the greatest quarterbacks are defined not just by their talent and regular-season stats, but by their postseason success and championships. Although this philosophy might be true for many, it didn’t suit Jones, who played with Rodgers for six seasons with the Packers.

He kept quiet, with a face of disappointment and resentment for what McCoy said about his friend Rodgers. Nevertheless, the team is preparing for their preseason first which is scheduled to take place on August 9. But as per the reports, A-Rod will be away from it.

Will Aaron Rodgers be able to add numbers to his 43 preseason games?

Aaron Rodgers might sit out all three preseason games! At 40, Rodgers has rarely played in the recent preseasons. Last year, he only saw action in the Jets’ final preseason game, but this time he might be out of all. Talking about the same, the head coach Robert Saleh confirmed that Rodgers won’t play in the first two games. However, he also mentioned that it’s still undecided whether he will go for third or not. Saleh said, “My instinct is no, but I want to leave it open” for Rodgers. But it seems this anticipation is going in the loop, as Rodgers too left the decision on coach Saleh.

The four-time MVP said, “That’s Robert’s [Saleh] decision. I’ve never told him I don’t want to play in the preseason.” He further reminisced about how preseason participation has changed, with teams now favoring joint practices over games. Despite this, Rodgers is ready if called upon, saying, “If he decides he wants me to play against the Giants, I’ll strap it up and look forward to that.”

But many are still concerned about his age and injury. Hence, clearing all the doubts for those critics, fully recovered from his Achilles tear last season, Rodgers emphasized that he doesn’t have any restrictions now. All in all, Rodgers has played in 43 preseason games in his career, but whether he’ll add to that number and extract favorable results this year is still uncertain.