Rodgers returned from a torn Achilles this season to high hopes, with many experts predicting the Jets would end their playoff drought. The team instead stumbled to a 5-12 record, struggling on both sides of the ball and enduring internal turmoil that included the firing of both the head coach and general manager.

Ahead of the New York Jets' Week 18 finale and with his NFL playing future far from certain, Aaron Rodgers expressed "gratitude" on Wednesday for his tenure as quarterback of the team. Rodgers, 41, shared a positive view on his time with the Jets despite a lack of success unbecoming of the former NFL MVP and organizational instability emblematic of reported dysfunction within the franchise.