Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets might not be long for each other, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
According to Russini, it seems “increasingly likely” that the Jets will place Rodgers on injured reserve or bench him in the next few weeks. This would all but signify the end of the Rodgers era in New York.
It’s also possible that they outright release him, similar to what the New York Giants just did with Daniel Jones. That might seem like a massive surprise, but the interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich might want to protect the team’s culture, and moving a future Hall of Fame quarterback to the bench might not send the best message to the rest of the locker room. Releasing him could be the best option.
But Rodgers might not be opposed to closing this chapter, Russini elaborates. He reportedly wants to play in 2025, just not for the Jets.
This report being made public means one thing. The situation for the Jets is officially ugly. They’ve tried to tailor their entire organization around Rodgers. This offseason, they acquired free agent receiver Mike Williams, who was promptly traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers when the Jets traded for Davante Adams. The fact that this report became public signifies that the Jets are ready to take their organization back.
There are plenty of other Green Bay Packers transplants that followed Rodgers to the Big Apple over the last two seasons. The Jets haven’t exactly gotten much out of any of these guys.
Oh yeah, they also fired head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. Rodgers denies having anything to do with those firings.
Rodgers was supposed to elevate a pretty talented Jets roster that looked ready to win now. A ruptured Achilles tendon just a few plays into his debut with the Jets derailed plans last year. But this year has been an unmitigated disaster. This is still a decent roster, but it seems clear that Rodgers isn’t going to take them anywhere, as they’re currently 3-8.
The Rodgers era also spelled the Jets from failed No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson, who was flat out really bad. The issue is, this has not gone any better.
This isn’t an exactly strong quarterback class, either. Presumed No. 1 quarterback Shedeur Sanders will have his NFL future dictated by his father, Deion Sanders, and the Jets have been a pretty unstable organization. There’s no guarantee that Coach Prime would let his talented son play quarterback for that organization. Not after how they’ve bungled their own quarterback situation these last five years.
The Jets will continue to wander the quarterback desert, a place they became familiar with before pulling off a trade for Rodgers, who will now look to “revive” his Hall of Fame career with another organization.
It’s what unstable organizations do. The path forward for the Jets is not clear, but what’s growing increasingly clearer is that Rodgers will not be part of their plans moving forward with a new coach and GM.