Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner doesn’t believe the New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers should be in the GOAT conversation
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a controversial figure. To some, he’s one of the greatest players to ever step foot on the gridiron. To others, he’s an overrated player who’s a distraction off the field. And while Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner believes Rodgers is an excellent player, Warner thinks he’s missing an important piece in his trophy case before being considered the greatest to play the game.
Speaking on Jomboy Media’s Football Today with Chris Rose on Tuesday, Warner was asked if he was more excited to watch Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins play or the Jets’ quarterback. While the Hall-of-Fame quarterback said he’d rather watch Rodgers play, it didn’t stop him from critiquing the Jets’ quarterback entering his 20th season. Specifically, Warner said he does not believe that Rodgers deserves to be discussed among the greatest of all time at the position before he’s able to win another Super Bowl.
“Aaron is one of the best quarterbacks our league has ever seen,” Warner started. “But he doesn’t get into the greatest conversation until he gets to another Super Bowl. Having him switch teams, having him come back at 40 years old off of an Achilles, [with] the New York Jets who have never won, and this could maybe set Aaron in kind of a different category. Kind of what I was able to do with Arizona that elevated me back to a different status than it would have been had I just had great success with St. Louis.”
Kurt Warner on Aaron Rodgers:
“He doesn’t get into the greatest conversation until he gets to another Super Bowl” pic.twitter.com/t7O7MX9Civ
— JM Football (@JomboyMediaFB) May 28, 2024
While Warner is incorrect about the Jets never winning anything (although the 1969 banner is surely gathering dust), he does have a point about Rodgers securing his legacy by bringing home another Lombardi trophy.
Warner himself wasn’t able to win a championship with the Arizona Cardinals, but reviving his career there and leading them to the Super Bowl helped promote his case in getting into Canton, though it probably didn’t hurt that he was the facilitator in the “Greatest Show on Turf” with the Rams.
While Rodgers is a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Fame candidate once he retires, winning a title with the Jets would be a captivating end to his career. Only four quarterbacks in the history of the NFL have started in the Super Bowl for two teams (with the aforementioned Warner being one of them). Becoming the fifth player would be an excellent opportunity for Rodgers to etch his name in NFL history and Jets lore.
Luckily for Rodgers, Jets fans themselves are unlikely to set such a high bar for the 40-year-old signal caller. As long as the 2024 Jets are able to break the league’s longest current playoff drought and return the team to relevancy, there’s little wrong the four-time NFL MVP can do in fans’ eyes.
