HEADLINES

Jets To Move On From Aaron Rodgers

February 9th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

As most anticipated, the Jets appear ready to move on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Per FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, the 41-year-old passer flew to New Jersey last week to talk with the club, only to be told that Gang Green will be parting ways with him.

In the wake of the Jets’ decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh and then general manager Joe Douglas midway through the campaign, it became clear a parting of ways was likely in this situation. Uncertainty loomed as a new regime was brought in, but the organization will indeed start over at the quarterback spot in 2025. Rodgers’ New York tenure will thus end after only two years.

The longtime Packers star had a rocky end to his tenure in Green Bay, with the Jets emerging as a destination he was interested in as part of his efforts to continue his career. A deal was ultimately worked out – with New York sending a package consisting of a pair of second-round picks in addition to the teams swapping Day 1 selections in 2023 – and expectations were therefore high for the Jets to find short-term stability under center. Rodgers’ debut campaign ended after only four snaps, though, with an Achilles tear leaving him sidelined the rest of the way.

Douglas, Saleh and former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett received a mulligan from ownership this past offseason, and Rodgers did manage to play all 17 games in 2024. Still, the team fell well short of expectations and wound up outside the postseason. Retirement is still under consideration in Rodgers’ case, but in any event the Jets will move on. Remaining together was something new head coach Aaron Glenn was open to, but he and first-time general manager Darren Mougey stopped short of making a commitment one way or another when speaking about the team’s QB setup for 2025.

Earlier on Sunday, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (the latter of whom has since confirmed the expectation is that the Jets and Rodgers will part ways) reported a decision on this front was likely this coming week. A formal announcement should thus be expected shortly, but nevertheless the Jets will now turn their attention to finding a new short- and/or long-term QB solution. The failure of the Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson selections drove the Rodgers acquisition, and it will be interesting to see if the draft is again pursued this April or if the new regime will take a different route.

Glazer’s colleague Jordan Schultz – who also reported on Sunday a Rodgers split was likely – adds this move was influenced more by the nature of his contract than his up-and-down level of play this past season. The four-time MVP is due $37.5MM in 2025, with none of his base salary guaranteed. Teams which view Rodgers as a viable option could look to swing a trade at a reduced price, but it would come as no surprise if the Jets proceeded with a release. Doing so with a post-June 1 designation will be required to avoid incurring a massive dead cap charge.

Tyrod Taylor is under contract for next year at a reasonable cap hit of $6.8MM, and he would welcome the chance to again operate as a starter. New York will be in the market for another passer this offseason, though, and ESPN’s Rich Cimini names Kirk Cousins as a potential option. The Falcons are likely to move on from Cousins, who is familiar to new front office exec Rick Speilman given their time together in Minnesota. In any case, how the Mougey-Glenn pairing operates at the quarterback spot will be critical moving forward.

Rodgers and Davante Adams reunited with the Jets ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, but the latter’s future was clouded by uncertainty based on the former’s tenuous hold on a New York roster spot for next season. Now that Rodgers is known to be on the way out, it would come as no surprise if Adams were to change teams once again; a return to the west coast could be in order. Another Rodgers-Adams pairing could be in store, but only if Rodgers elects to continue playing. If that proves to be the case, he will need to suit up for a third NFL team in the closing chapter of his decorated career.

Rory Parks contributed to this post. 

NFL Trade Rumors: New York JetsNewsstandAaron Rodgers

View Comments (74)