If losses continue, will Aaron Rodgers play out the string?

The Jets are 2-6. By midnight, they could be 2-7.

Amazingly, they've been favored all week against the 6-2 Texans. Even more amazingly, the line has moved from Jets minus-1.5 to Jets minus-2.

Maybe they bettors are right. Maybe the Jets, who last won a game the last time they played a game on a Thursday night, will topple the Texans and get to 3-6. They still have a long way to go before they'll be regarded as contenders.

It's not impossible. There are winnable games on the schedule. They probably need to go 7-2 to have a shot at qualifying for the postseason.

For these purposes, let's assume they'll get to a ninth loss on or before Week 15, when they face the Jaguars in Jacksonville. If/when the number in the "L" column reaches nine, what will Aaron Rodgers do?

The easiest exit would be to slip to injured reserve and not return. Given the various injuries he already has suffered, it's not a stretch to envision Rodgers getting to a point where it makes no sense to keep going — especially with his 41st birthday looming.

We spitballed recently about the possibility that Rodgers could be traded by Tuesday's deadline if the Jets lose tonight and if a starter on a contending team gets injured this weekend. What if the Jets win but eventually get to nine losses and then a contending team needs a quarterback?

Rodgers could ask to be released. If he made it through waivers, he'd become a free agent. And he'd then be able to join any team he'd want.

Or, more accurately, any team that would want him. At this point, it's fair to ask whether anyone would. While a high level of talent will get a team to overlook baggage, Rodgers isn't playing well enough to justify dealing with everything else that comes along with having him on the team.

For now, his best play is to play his best and hope the Jets can start winning. Once they're done, as a practical matter, for 2024, it will be very interesting to see whether he plays out the string — and whether he'll try to find a path toward playing for someone else.