What the Jets have to weigh in winding down Aaron Rodgers

On the day Aaron Rodgers turned 41 years old, he received a gift from his interim head coach, an affirmation — and a sound one, too — from Jeff Ulbrich that he’d start Sunday against the Dolphins.

Ulbrich fielded seven consecutive questions about Rodgers to start his press conference Monday and defended the future Hall of Famer in all of his answers.

These weren’t the regular inquiries about an underwhelming Gang Green offense that has been anything but explosive under Rodgers. They were about his short-term future as the Jets’ starter, unequivocally connected to the quarterback change that Ulbrich left the door open for in the immediate aftermath of their Week 13 loss. Forget about what happens to Rodgers in the offseason. Forget about whether he retires, whether he returns, whether he goes back to SkyCave in southern Oregon for another darkness retreat.

Rodgers ending the regular season as the Jets’ starting quarterback is far from a guarantee, and that, 21 months ago, would’ve been a shocking scenario.