Aaron Rodgers’ time as a New York Jet looks to have come to an end.
Swept up in the commotion and celebration of Super Bowl Sunday was a report from FOX Sports NFL insider, Jay Glazer.
“Aaron Rodgers flew back to New Jersey last week to meet with the Jets about his future with the team, only to be told that the team was moving on from him,” Glazer reported on X.
“If that means that he will be a June 1 designation that allows him to sign with any team in the league on March 12 if he decides to continue to play.
“Given that Aaron made the effort to fly back to discuss his future, all signs point to him continuing to play. It just won’t be for the Jets.”
New head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey want to turn the page and go in a different direction.
And more reported details have now come out about the meeting between Rodgers and the Jets brass.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini revealed on her ‘Scoop City’ podcast that the new regime issued two clear ultimatums.
“I was told that when they had conversations with Aaron Rodgers about what the future would look like, if you’re going to be part of this team you’re going to attend all of training camp,” Russini said.
“You’re not going to do Pat McAfee interviews anymore.”
As Glazer pointed out, the fact that Rodgers flew back to meet with the Jets in person, signaled that the four-time league MVP intends to play in 2025.
The parameters and ultimatums the Jets allegedly gave Rodgers suggest they didn’t have too much interest in bringing him back. And the feeling may have been mutual.
“I think that, no matter what the Jets were going to say, Aaron Rodgers wanted to move on,” Russini added.
“I think he was smart to talk to the Jets and say, ‘Where do we stand, how does this work?’ And maybe if they were on the side of convincing him more, this could have changed, but this wasn’t the way it was when they traded for him, when it was exciting.”
Over the course of his two-year stint in New York, Rodgers was a weekly guest on ‘The Pat McAfee Show.’
His appearances seemed to cause more harm than good, and the Jets clearly had enough.
Rodgers only played one healthy season in New York, after rupturing his Achilles just four plays into his Jets’ tenure last season.
It was tumultuous 5-12 year that included the mid-season firing of head coach Robert Saleh, who was forced to fine his star QB after he missed a mandatory minicamp to vacation in Egypt.
Rodgers looked every bit of his 41-year-old self.
There were flashes of the Green Bay Packers version, but ultimately it was clear that Rodgers had lost a step.
Not to mention coming back from major surgery, it was always going to be a tough climb back.
The Jets have decided that they are now out of the Rodgers business and will have to eat $59 million in dead cap.
There will be teams, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, who may have interest in the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
But if they want his services, it looks like they may have to continue to let Rodgers chop it up with his good friend McAfee on a weekly basis.