In the Jets’ Week 15 win over the Jaguars, Aaron Rodgers posted his first 300-yard passing game since the 2021 season. Showcasing his rapport with Davante Adams, Rodgers may also have continued to make his case he can be a team’s starter in 2025.
Rodgers has gone from leaning toward playing next season to being undecided. The four-time MVP again said he would take time to process his future after the season. Though, he added (via SNY’s Connor Hughes) a Jets release could come soon after the season. The Jets could designate Rodgers a post-June 1 cut, but were they to do so, the transaction cannot occur until the start of the 2025 league year (March 12). If the Jets are keen on taking a $49MM dead money hit in 2025, they could release Rodgers in February.
It is interesting to hear a starting quarterback assess his future in this way, though Rodgers has obviously become a rather outspoken presence over the past few years. The Jets are widely believed to be ready to move on at season’s end. Woody Johnson attempted to have the decorated QB benched on at least one occasion, with another effort also rumored to have taken place. With the Jets readying to start over at GM and HC, that duo is expected to look for a new starting quarterback as well.
The Raiders and Giants, however, have the inside track to the 2025 draft’s top two quarterback prospects — Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. (At 4-10, the Jets are projected to pick eighth.) In a QB class not viewed as particularly special, the Giants and Raiders finishing with the league’s two worst records could force other teams to look more closely at free agency or the trade market. The Jets have a player other teams would seemingly consider, baggage and all, but Rodgers has said his first choice would be to remain a Jet. He added another detail to this stance Wednesday, indicating (via Hughes) he would be open to a contract adjustment to stay.
Rodgers, 41, did not limit potential solutions to a pay cut. Though, a restructure would push more money into the future; it would be unlikely if a new Jets regime was ready to go down that road. It would already cost the team $49MM in dead money — as of now, that would be the second-highest single-player total in NFL history — for the Jets to release Rodgers. They could split that amount through two years with a post-June 1 cut.
Similar to his 2023 Packers arrangement, Rodgers is due a $35MM roster bonus that can be paid at any point before Week 1, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. That timeline gave the Packers flexibility to move on, executing a trade in late April of last year. The Jets are unlikely to have a comparable trade market, though Rodgers being open to a few solutions could also include reducing the bonus number. Of course, he could simply force a release and keep the contract as is. Rodgers would still have full control over a trade destination due to a no-trade clause, but given the developments over the past two seasons, it would be more realistic if he were released.
Rodgers’ latest complex contract would also make him more expensive to cut in 2026 than 2025, per ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini, who notes the dead cap charge would increase to $63MM if the Jets retain him in ’25 and move on a year later. The option bonus being paid by the Jets before Week 1 of next season would prorate through the contract’s life (four void years are on the deal) and accelerate onto their 2026 cap sheet. The Broncos faced a somewhat similar situation with Russell Wilson, whose 2025 salary guarantee would have made him a bit more expensive to drop in 2025 compared to a 2024 release. Denver ended up biting the bullet, producing an $83MM-plus dead money total that shattered the NFL record.
Through that lens, the Jets keeping Rodgers in 2025 on his current contract may be a nonstarter. But the 20-year veteran did accept a significant pay cut in 2023 to help the Jets, removing roughly $35MM from his deal in August of last year. Another such move may be the only decision that could keep him in New York.
Regardless of Rodgers’ 2025 status, the Jets are expected to draft a quarterback, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. The Jets did not bring in an heir apparent in 2023 or ’24, centering their plan on their aging starter. Rodgers has experience in a team drafting a passer early, with the Packers’ 2020 Jordan Love trade-up famously rankling the QB and leading to the 2021 standoff. Green Bay brass not alerting Rodgers of that trade-up beforehand became a point of contention, but he still played three more seasons with the team. If Rodgers manages to stick around with the Jets, it likely would be for just one more season. Only void years remain on Rodgers’ contract beyond 2025.
As of now, the Jets are not expecting Johnson to be part of Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. That would mean the longtime owner, who was away as the ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 through January 2021, would make the decision on Rodgers. Based on what we have heard thus far, Johnson would likely come down on the side of starting over.
If the Jets do not hold a top-two pick, their options may narrow to the point keeping Rodgers could become a consideration. How Rodgers plays over the team’s final three games and how he approaches the offseason will contribute to the Jets’ near-future plan, as the prospect of an all-time QB great hitting free agency at 41 will loom barring a significant change.
Jordan Travis is better than most of this year’s QBs.
He ain’t healthy
Have him sit another year behind Rodgers
Instead of a pay cut how about agreeing to stafu and just play QB?
Rodgers has been playing well since the Jets came back from their open date. It’s not entirely his fault that they lost to Seattle and Miami.
I was thinking the same. He hasn’t been horrible. Overall his numbers aren’t bad. Some teams might be happy with a QB who is 7th in TD passes, for example.
But the Jets need to draft a QB. No brainer there.
Itd be nice to draft a QB to sit behind Rodgers but whos even worth drafting? Cam Ward and Sanders will likely be off the board and im not the highest on Milroe. I wish Arch Manning was a senior and started all year lol
I hope they don’t waste another first round pick on a quarterback, they just haven’t had any luck there since Pennington, and he was injury prone. Sanchez did lead them to the AFC Championship, but that was as good as done faster than you can say “buttfumble”. I still think that was karmic payback for Sanchez picking his nose & wiping it on Mark Brunell’s back on a nationally televised game. I think after seeing all of those failed first & second round picks, the Jets fans don’t want to see it again, & the QB prospects are probably just as scared of the Jets organization as they are of the Panthers.
Keep him, but then you have to re-schedule all the mini-camps around his vacation schedule. You know, he might be in Cancun that week and cannot be bothered.
I’m sure GMs will be knocking down their door to trade assets for an overpriced, aging and narcissistic QB.
7th in passing tds right now and everyone hes ever worked with including LaFluer and Jordan Love had all good things to say about Rodgers so wompwomp
The Jets should just leave Rodgers as the starting QB and allow him to take such a physical beating that he has no choice but to retire.
Trade him for Deshaun Watson
That would be groovy but a Raging Dumpster Fire
His stats aren’t all that bad actually. Just looked at them today and was pleasantly surprised. I’d like to see him finish on a higher note. I don’t hate Aaron Rodgers. To each their own.
He’s a straight shooter. A lot of the soft low-T guys dislike him because they’re embarrassed they let the govt peer pressure them into taking a (now proven) worthless injection.
Rodgers stayed strong to his holistic values during such a turbulent time
I like him enough to think he should retire
Straight shooter or team killer? Politics have nothing to do with how badly Rogers killed morale in the Jets locker room this year. This season, fans saw him throwing teammates under the bus and forcing the team to give up assets to bring in more of his friends who contribute little to nothing. His one or two games looking okay don’t make up for having to deal with that level of narcissism.
You say that, but all reports from people actually present there say otherwise. Sure, it could be PR, but everything that we’ve read about how horrible he is with his teammates has come from the outside. Could it be possible that such reports are not correct?
Oh no Rodgers hurt a slackers feelings
Am I supposed to care?
Call it narcissism or whatever you want, but the guy has a SB ring and 2 MVP trophies.
Let’s get back to taking advice from successful people
Rodgers was having a nearly identical season to Patrick Mahomes this year, but on the freaking jets. That’s more than impressive
@goku
Looks like someone found out how to make something non-political, political!
Rogers ghost accounts. Pretending they didn’t see him throw teammates and coaches under the bus in press conferences and media discussions all year.
I’m honestly not trying to come off as hostile, but who do you mean? Mike Williams? He ran his route wrong. Rodgers didn’t even offer that up until he was pressed on it. Emmanuel Acho did a good video with the play explaining what was wrong. Williams, for his part, also admitted after the trade that he was behind on understanding some things in New York.
I’m not sure who else Rodgers called out. If you have some, I could be wrong, but I just keep seeing this sentiment and I rarely see anything direct that backs it up definitively from primary sources.
Do they know what they have in Jordan Travis? I would think they may want to make sure before reaching in a weak QB draft class.
Travvy is injured right now.
This is Russell Wilson all over. He’s not peak Rodgers but he’s still an above average QB. Td/int is perfectly fine. Defense and breece hall have let them down.
Ok bring him back
I, along with most Jets fans, am over this. We have Tyrod on contract for next year, let him start and when he inevitably gets injured I’d like to see what Jordan Travis can do. There are no great options besides Shedeur and Ward, so try to get our next “franchise” QB from the next draft class.
You are tired of the narrative the media has created about Rodgers. Surely you cant be tired of the best QB play we’ve seen since 2015 after 10 grueling years of our offenses barely finding first downs.
Have Travis sit under Rodgers another year, maybe pick up a QB in the mid rounds like Cade Klubnik if they really want one. 0 point in letting Tryod play for 2-3 weeks, realize Rodgers was a way better QB to learn from and not the issue, and throw Travis in there if hes even healthy
Yes, I am tired of the circus. He is better than Wilson for sure, but he has not delivered on what was expected and we’re just better off with a clean slate for next year. I’m not expecting to win anything next year with or without Rodgers, so I would rather win less games to get a better draft pick to *hopefully* finally hit on a QB selection. There is a point in letting Tyrod play, we already have him under a low-salary contract, he’s a steady veteran who can teach Travis (I understand Rodgers can do that too, but I’d rather be rid of that contract/circus). Travis is healthy now, the reason he is not allowed to be involved in practices and play is because of how the Jets had to designate him this year for roster reasons. They couldn’t put him on the practice squad for some NFL reason of that he could be signed off by another team, when clearly the Jets think he has some potential but have no room for him this year.
In 2022, we all begged for a semi competent human being to throw check downs and game manage. We got just that and more actually. If you expected 41 year old Rodgers coming off an achilles tear to be 2011 Rodgers idk what to tell you. He has played very solid tho, getting better every week. 7th in passing TDs. Thrown just as many TDs so far this year as Zach has thrown in his entire career and we want to get rid of it? Hes had about 3 bad games (Vikings game namely) but a lot of the losses can actually be pinned on the defense being unable to stop the run the first half of the season and then second half of the season coughing up 4th Q leads to bottom tier QBs every week. Not to mention and Greg missing kicks like crazy. This team isnt far away from being a WC team or a division winner if Josh Allen wasnt so good lol. They wouldve beaten the Bills if Greg made the kicks in case you forgot. They have the pieces, it would be silly to go clean slate and watch another Zach Wilson+Sam Darnold experiment for 10 more years, especially now that the offense is gelling and way more on same page compared to the first half of the year.
You cant get rid of the Rodgers’ contract, at least in terms of dead money. Additionally, having Rodgers back wouldnt force the teams hand to start Travis or someone else if they feel he isnt ready, whereas if you have just Tyrod the media would be foaming at the mouth the by the first 3 and out.
Also, if youre personally affected by media lies to spark up controversy where it doesnt exist to get clicks, thats on you. NY Media is actually the worst, thats why ABC settled with the orange man on a defamation suit:
Send him to Titans for a year