This wildly disappointing Jets season has brought a gradual housecleaning, with Joe Douglas‘ exit the latest such move. The team’s attempt to load up its roster around Aaron Rodgers over the past two years has not worked, and the four-time MVP may soon be on his way out as well.
As the Jets are seeing their second blockbuster trade for a longtime Packers QB great fail, they are staring at perhaps another reset — albeit with some solid young pieces in place. Rodgers, who will turn 41 in December, may be more likely than not to be elsewhere once that overhaul commences.
Nothing may be concrete just yet, but in the wake of the Douglas firing, SNY’s Connor Hughes reports the Jets would prefer to move on from Rodgers as well. Going further, a source told ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini it would be a “shock” if Rodgers was a Jet next year. Rodgers and Douglas shared a good relationship, Cimini adds, and the QB has advocated for interim HC Jeff Ulbrich. With a restart coming, the sides severing ties appears likely.
This news comes not long after a report indicated Rodgers’ post-2024 New York future was up in the air. Davante Adams expressed some rumored hesitation about Rodgers’ Big Apple future beyond this season; now, the All-Pro wideout is tied to a Jets team in transition. A separation might be mutual, as Rodgers has sought more stability than the Jets have provided.
Rodgers said recently he is leaning toward playing in 2025; this came months after the then-rehabbing QB said he was open to playing into his mid-40s. Based on his play this season, that seems unlikely to happen. While it would not be too hard to see teams pursuing him next year, the ex-Green Bay icon has not come remotely close to following in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady‘s footsteps in terms of success with a second team. Rodgers sits 24th in QBR and has not shown much of his early-2020s MVP form. Considering Rodgers did not fare too well in his final Green Bay season, it is worth wondering what a market would be for a 41-year-old quarterback not too far removed from Achilles surgery.
The Jets swapped first-round picks with the Packers for Rodgers in the April 2023 deal — in a trade that also saw two second-round picks going to the Packers — but sit 3-8 in the 20th-year veteran’s comeback season. Rodgers kept himself in headlines throughout last season by teasing a return from the Achilles tear, doing so despite the Jets struggling with Zach Wilson back at the helm. No comeback commenced, but Rodgers-generated headlines followed into the offseason.
The increasingly outspoken passer all but forced the Jets to retain Nathaniel Hackett as OC this offseason, despite Robert Saleh conducting a stealth push to curb the play-caller’s power by bringing in an assistant. With no title to offer, Saleh did not end up hiring a veteran to help/oversee Hackett, and Rodgers vouched again for the embattled assistant. Saleh planned to demote Hackett, and interim HC Ulbrich ultimately did. Todd Downing‘s transition to the play-calling role has not moved the needle. The Jets rank 26th in scoring and total offense; with Gang Green’s defense also regressing this season, the team is 1-5 under Ulbrich.
When the Jets separated from Brett Favre in 2009, they relinquished his rights due to a poison-pill provision effectively preventing the team from trading the future Hall of Famer to the Vikings. Favre ended up in Minnesota as a free agent, unretiring a second time. Rodgers teased retirement during his final Packers years and famously said he was 90% retired before his 2023 darkness retreat. Rodgers then OK’d a Jets trade, but the results have burned the downtrodden AFC East franchise, which brought in several of Rodgers’ former Packers teammates and coaches.
Due to signing bonus proration and void years on a 2023 Rodgers reworking, a $49MM dead cap hit would come if the Jets released him in 2025. This could be trimmed to just $14MM in the event of a post-June 1 cut. Even though the Broncos blazed new territory for dead money by cutting Russell Wilson (to bring more than $83MM over two years) and the Browns are staring at an unfathomable $170MM-plus bill if they drop Deshaun Watson next year, a $49MM cap penalty is still notable. The Packers ate $40.3MM by trading Rodgers last year, with the Falcons’ 2022 Matt Ryan trade standing as the single-player record ($40.5MM) before the Broncos’ decision.
The Jets rolled with rookie-contract quarterbacks primarily in between Favre and Rodgers. Zach Wilson‘s struggles prompted Woody Johnson to spend for Rodgers to chase course, but the franchise is close to giving up here. It will obviously be interesting to see where the Jets go if/when they move on from Rodgers, who would profile as a boom-or-bust bet as a high-profile stopgap in 2025.
Rodgers to Vegas! Lmao
All Aaron needs to do is click a few d-pics, and sign with the Vikings, then the circle is complete.
Don’t forget the welfare fraud.
Move on from Rodgers? I guess that means Adams goes too then? And even if that happens aren’t they in salary cap purgatory until 2035 or so? This was well thought out right? And people wonder why we make fun of the Jets? Another head scratcher to be sure.
Can’t wait for Mahomes to come to the Jets when he’s 40 and falling apart.
…also, at this point, Davante Adams has to be just banging his head against the wall.
Being a Jets fan is the highest form of masochism.
Davante has no one to blame but himself.
It was obvious the Jets were a worse train wreck than the Raiders.
They should absolutely move on. I understand why they brought him in when it felt like the absence of even a decent quarterback was all that was keeping them from the playoffs. But from his so-so play to his insistence on bringing in friends to the roster to his constant off-field distractions to his insistence on running an outdated offense that can only succeed in this era with the sort of otherworldly play he’s not capable of anymore, he’s just not worth it. It won’t be an easy transition cap-wise, but it’s time to move on. This road leads nowhere and it’s covered in mud. This roster has a bunch of really strong young players. Let the new regime start over with them instead of making the whole Jets world revolve around this lousy character who isn’t great anymore.
Agree. Biggest problem with AR is he can’t extend plays and takes sacks. He’s a highly precise QB who just hasn’t been on the same page with his WRs, for whatever reason. Dumping Saleh was a mistake so early in the season, NYJ look lost sometimes, and they shouldn’t.
The Jets should absolutely move on. It will be interesting to see who they get for a QB and how that will blow up.
I hear D Jones might be available soon.
Jamarcus Russell is on line 1.
They will trade the next two years draft picks for Dapk and resign him to a longer high priced contract. They will tell the fans it was due to the succes Dak has had in the playoffs.
They’ll mosey on for 15 years then trade for Jordan Love.
The Jets talent is literally just a QB and a Head Coach away from being a serious contender. Brady and Belichik are waiting on line 1 with one last hoorah!…And Yes you naysayers spare me, I know there are issues with Brady being a part-owner now or whatever smh.
Im loving all of this.
Its not like there were not clues.
Well, least we know in about 10-15 years GB is gonna piss off jordan love by drafting his replacement towards tail end of his career and Jordan love will wind up a NYJ.
This team has never been any good(apologies to Joe Namath), is lost in the desert now, and has no hope on the horizon. Sucks to be a Jets fan. I almost feel badly for them. Almost.
Air, the dumpster is on fire
What we should not forget is that last year Aaron Rodgers would have been a better quarterback and that Robert Saleh had not lived through last year’s discouraging season and there was an air of more hope and energy in the whole franchise. It’s bad luck that Rodgers was injured. It’s crazy though that the Jets took on a contract with so much guaranteed money and so many penalties.
Surprised at the Jones, Prescott, Watson, Wilson deals as well. The only large veteran deal which has worked out is Stafford. One might argue Cousins has provided at least limited value to his franchises.
Rodgers ends up in Cleveland for 2025. He looks slow n has lost sum off his fastball. Add brittle now too. Ol man time never loses.
Offensive lines woes, injuries. A third of the league(probably more) has had setbacks. Jets gotta soup up the OL. Qb they’ll make due.