“It’s been a really special year, and we’re playing meaningful football in December and January now, which is what I wanted after the last couple years,” Rodgers said. “Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. [Not] a lot of options, but there’ll be options I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.”
Get Starting Point
While Rodgers may want one last ride in 2026, several other notable players and a head coach have been eliminated from playoff contention and may spend their final time on an NFL sideline in this weekend’s games:
▪ Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: A seven-time All Pro, three-time Super Bowl champion, and surefire Hall of Famer, the future Mr. Swift took in the moment Christmas night at Arrowhead Stadium and looked as if he will be hanging up his cleats after Sunday’s finale in Las Vegas. “I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” Kelce said. Though he hasn’t cracked 1,000 receiving yards since 2022, Kelce has 839 yards and five touchdowns this year.
▪ Raiders coach Pete Carroll: He’s been an NFL head coach with four teams (plus a long college stint at Southern California), racked up 172 regular-season wins over 19 seasons, and is one of three coaches to win a Super Bowl and an NCAA championship. But his Raiders tenure has been a disaster, with the team 2-14 entering Sunday’s finale and in line for the No. 1 draft pick. If Carroll does get fired, it will be the second one-and-done in his career (Jets, 1994), and it’s hard to imagine the 74-year-old getting another head coaching job.
Could this be the last go-round for Pete Carroll?Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press
▪ Buccaneers WR Mike Evans: He’s tied with Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons (11), and will almost certainly end up with a gold jacket. But Evans missed nine games with a hamstring injury and broken collarbone this year, his 47.7 yards per game are the fewest of his career, and he’ll be 33 and a free agent next year. The Buccaneers’ game against the Panthers Saturday could be it.
“I’ll focus on [retirement] when the time is right. Right now, we have to win,” Evans said.
▪ Giants QBs Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston: It was a strange sight on Dec. 1, seeing Wilson dress quietly in the visitor locker room at Gillette Stadium after the Giants’ loss to the Patriots. Wilson was inactive for the first time in his career, and no one had much interest in interviewing a former Super Bowl winner who made 10 Pro Bowls and likely will end up in Canton, Ohio. Wilson said he wants to keep playing next year, but he has been dumped by four teams in four years, and prepared for the future this year by taking a CBS gig during his bye week.
Winston, who turns 32 on Tuesday, never quite fulfilled his promise as the No. 1 pick in 2015, and he has played for three teams the last three years. But there were few quarterbacks more entertaining than Winston, whose personality almost certainly will land him a TV job that is more lucrative than trying to come back next year as a third-string quarterback.
▪ Cardinals DT Calais Campbell: At 39, he returned to Arizona, his original team, for one last season. Campbell has been solid as ever, with 6.5 sacks and playing in all 16 games, but the season has been a disaster, with the Cardinals turning a 2-0 start into 3-13. A former 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year who is heavily involved in the NFL Players Association, Campbell could still play in 2026, but probably has bigger opportunities to pursue.
▪ Commanders LB Von Miller: After three disappointing, injury-riddled seasons in Buffalo, Miller, 36, signed on with the Commanders for one last shot at a Super Bowl. While the Commanders have fallen apart at 4-12, Miller has picked up eight sacks in a reserve role. Sunday’s game at Philadelphia is probably it for Miller after two Super Bowl wins, seven All-Pro teams, and 137.5 sacks (tied for 14th all time).
▪ Saints DE Cam Jordan, RB Alvin Kamara, and TE Taysom Hill: They have 33 combined years with the club, and will all likely enter the Saints Ring of Honor, if not the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jordan has 131 career sacks and only two missed games in 15 seasons. Kamara has more than 12,000 all-purpose yards and 86 touchdowns in nine seasons, while Hill is the only player in the Super Bowl era with 1,000 career yards passing, rushing, and receiving. But the Saints need to commit to a rebuild, and it’s probably time to say goodbye to their legends.
After not playing since the 2020 season, quarterback Philip Rivers came out of retirement to play three games for the Colts.Michael Hickey/Getty
NO REGRETS
Rivers admirable fill-in for Colts
Then there is Philip Rivers, who had been retired for five years before getting a surprise opportunity with the Colts after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending injury.
The Colts lost all three of Rivers’s starts to fall to 8-8. Finally eliminated from playoff contention this past week, Rivers and the Colts opted to let rookies Riley Leonard and Seth Henigan play the final game of the season Sunday against the Texans.
“I think this just made the most sense for all involved to get Riley in there and get him some work,” Rivers said. “I know he’s been preparing and working all year and the guy’s going to get a shot, and we’re pulling for him.”
Despite the 0-3 record, Rivers performed admirably given the circumstances — 44 years old and coming off his couch to play, while learning new teammates and getting reacquainted with the playbook. He threw for 181 yards per game, completed 63 percent of his passes, threw four touchdowns against three interceptions, and compiled an 80.2 rating. Rivers also faced a gauntlet of Super Bowl contenders, losing 18-16 to the Seahawks, 48-27 to the 49ers, and 23-17 to the Jaguars. Though Rivers now has to wait five more years to be considered for the Hall of Fame, this stint arguably burnished his résumé.
Most importantly, Rivers took only five sacks and got out healthy.
“I think that was the biggest concern for everybody — him not playing in five years,” coach Shane Steichen said. “There were probably a lot of prayers from him and a lot of people to get him through this thing healthy. He’s the ultimate competitor, and for him to come out healthy, that’s the ultimate blessing.”
After this weekend, Rivers will head home to near Mobile, Ala., and return to coaching his sons’ high school football team.
“I have no regrets, other than us not getting it done and finding a way to get to the postseason,” Rivers said. “It’s been a whirlwind and an awesome three weeks in a lot of ways, personally, but to finish it out the right way and be here for Riley and close it all out was certainly what I hoped to do. I’m thankful I’m going to get that opportunity.”
ETC.
A few quick notes about the AFC East:
▪ The Bills will have a bittersweet day on Sunday against the Jets, as it will be the last game at Highmark Stadium after 53 seasons. Buffalo will wear red helmets for the first time since 2010, produce a commemorative farewell coin and rally towel for the fans (and for the opening coin toss), sell a special edition Bud Light that is brewed with snow from Highmark Stadium, and celebrate with several Bills legends. The festivities appropriately kicked off Saturday with the Bills asking fans to help clear nearly a foot of snow from the seating bowl.
▪ The Jets have lost four straight games by at least 23 points, just the second team in the Super Bowl era to do so (1972 Patriots), and they are on the verge of becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era with no interceptions all season. Not only has coach Aaron Glenn looked and sounded clueless all year, but he had to clean up his own mess this past week when he questioned his players’ effort after the blowout loss to the Patriots , similar to Jerod Mayo calling the Patriots “soft” last year. If the Jets do keep Glenn for 2026, it’s only because they don’t want to change coaches for the fourth time in nine years.
It’s been a trying first season as a head coach for the Jets’ Aaron Glenn.Ella Hall/Associated Press
▪ Sunday’s game could be the last one for Tua Tagovailoa as a member of the Dolphins. He was benched for rookie Quinn Ewers in Week 16, and last week was made the emergency third QB behind Zach Wilson. There’s no guarantee Tagovailoa will even dress against the Patriots, with the Dolphins adding Cam Miller to the roster on Thursday. Tagovailoa is 7-1 against the Patriots, with his lone loss coming this year in Week 2.
▪ It may not feel like it given the spate of injuries and off-field news in recent weeks, but the Patriots have been the NFL’s healthiest team, according to analytics site Sports Info Solutions.
The methodology is a bit subjective, but SIS evaluates injuries based on games missed and the player’s impact on the team. The Patriots’ 144 games missed are fourth fewest in the NFL, but their 50 “total points missed” are the least. The top five teams (Cardinals, Commanders, 49ers, Bills, Dolphins) in total points missed have a combined record of 37-43. The bottom five teams (Patriots, Rams, Seahawks, Cowboys, Eagles) are 55-25.
Dolphins-Aikman a strange collaboration
Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross did it again this past week with reports that his team has hired Troy Aikman as a consultant to find their next general manager to replace Chris Grier, who was fired in October.
As one of the NFL’s top broadcasters since 2002, Aikman surely has his pulse on the league and ideas on what makes for a good GM. But it’s highly questionable for Ross to rely on an outsider who has no accountability for the hire’s success, instead of his own executives inside the building. If Ross’s own people aren’t adequate for finding a general manager, why are they there in the first place? Plus, Aikman supposedly has no input over the future of coach Mike McDaniel, which seems counterintuitive and likely will affect the quality of candidates the Dolphins will have available for GM. And it’s not like Aikman has been a GM before.
Whoever the Dolphins hire, the real problem is Ross hasn’t figured out much about building a winning team in 16 years of ownership.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals haven’t played in the postseason since the 2022 season.Kareem Elgazzar/Associated Press
Joe Burrow looking for changes
The 6-10 Bengals are missing the playoffs for the third straight season, and Joe Burrow, who has missed 16 of 50 games with injuries, keeps talking about making changes.
“We don’t want to be in the spot we are in now, so something’s got to change,” Burrow said this past week. “Whether it’s players we have continuing to improve and get better and play championship-caliber football or bringing in guys that will or whatever it may be. Obviously, something has to [change].”
It’s probably safe to say Burrow isn’t talking about getting rid of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, or any of the Bengals’ top players. Instead, the easiest change would be at head coach, where Zac Taylor is 52-62-1 with only two playoff appearances in seven seasons. The Netflix series “Quarterback” portrayed tension between Burrow and Taylor last season.
Notoriously thrifty Bengals owner Mike Brown doesn’t fire coaches often, and a league source said he doesn’t sense much momentum to fire Taylor, who has two years left on his contract. It will be interesting to see how Burrow responds if the Bengals opt for the status quo in 2026.
Lamar Jackson, set to play with a back contusion in the Ravens’ do-or-die game Sunday night in Pittsburgh, finally responded last week to the Baltimore Sun column that claimed the quarterback stays up too late playing video games, falls asleep in meetings, and generally hasn’t been the best leader. “Do you think [coach John] Harbaugh would let me fall asleep in meetings?” Jackson said. “That’s crazy. I’m right in the front. It’s just noise.” … The Jets truly can’t get anything right. On Friday, the team announced that their MVP for the season was kick returner Isaiah Williams, who had two punt return touchdowns and ranks second in the NFL in kickoff return average (30.2 yards). It’s a nice story for Williams, who was signed off the Bengals’ practice squad in September, was released in early October after fumbling against the Dolphins, then returned a month later. But how do the Jets not give the award to Breece Hall, who has nearly 1,000 more total yards than any other Jet, leads the team in touchdowns (five), and even threw the game-winning touchdown pass to get the Jets their first win of the season? … Caleb Williams needs 270 yards against the Lions to become the first Bears QB with 4,000 passing yards in a season … Two related stats — the 837 fourth-down attempts this year are an NFL record, and the 7.1 punts per game are the fewest. As recently as 2017, NFL games averaged 9.5 punts per game … Because of midseason trades, three players will potentially suit up for their 18th game of the season on Sunday — Ravens linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, Eagles pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, and Seahawks receiver Rashid Shaheed. Steelers safety Kyle Dugger didn’t get a bye week, either, but the Patriots did make him inactive in Week 8 … The Lions’ season has been a big disappointment, but a win Sunday would put them at 9-8 and mark the first time they have had four straight winning seasons since 1951-54. “We want to go out there and put something good on tape that can gain a little respect back from probably some of the loss of respect we earned this year,” quarterback Jared Goff said.
From the Rafael Devers and Brad Marchand trades to Jayson Tatum’s injury, and the resurgence of the Patriots, these are the biggest moments in sports from 2025.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
