The day Aaron Rodgers turned 41, he received a gift from his interim head coacha claim – and a solid one too – from Jeff Ulbrich that he would start Sunday against the Dolphins.

Ulbrich answered seven straight questions about Rodgers to begin his press conference Monday and defended the future Hall of Famer in all of his answers.

These weren’t regular surveys of a disappointing Gang Green offense that has been anything but explosive under Rodgers. They were talking about his near-term future as the Jets’ starter, tied unequivocally to the quarterback change that Ulbrich left the door open for immediately afterward. of their week 13 defeat. Forget what happens to Rodgers in the offseason. Forget if he retires, if he comes back, if he returns to SkyCave in southern Oregon for another retreat into obscurity.

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