Aaron Rodgers is still contemplating whether to continue his playing career. If he does, it appears it won’t be with the New York Jets.
The team has told the 41-year-old quarterback it is “moving on from him,” Fox Sports reported Sunday.
Rodgers said toward the end of the Jets’ 5-12 season he was undecided on his playing future, with the California native explaining he wanted to take “a break mentally to kind of refresh and put my feet in the sand, and see where I’m at after that.”
There was uncertainty, though, as to whether the Jets would even want to move forward with the four-time NFL MVP as the team’s quarterback. The Jets recently hired general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn, and owner Woody Johnson said at their introductory news conference on Jan. 27 the new regime would have the final say in that decision.
Glenn said he already had texted Rodgers and there would be discussions with him — as well as other players on the roster — in the near future. The new Jets coach also told reporters “this thing is not about Aaron Rodgers,” saying it’s a big-picture approach with the focus on the entire team.
And apparently, the Jets will move forward without Rodgers.
Fox Sports first reported that Rodgers met with the Jets in New Jersey and was told of the team’s plans.
New York’s roster currently includes veteran Tyrod Taylor and 24-year-old Jordan Travis, who spent his entire rookie season on the nonfootball injury list, at quarterback. However, the team also has the No. 7 overall pick in April’s draft and could pursue a quarterback.
Rodgers, the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 career touchdown passes in the regular season, has one year of nonguaranteed money left on his contract with the Jets. He would count $23.5 million against the salary cap.
If Rodgers is cut or retires, the Jets could absorb a $49 million dead money charge next season unless they designate him a post-June 1 cut and can spread out that charge over two years.
After spending his first 18 pro seasons with the Green Bay Packers, a run that included being MVP of their Super Bowl victory to cap the 2010 season, Rodgers was traded to New York in April 2023.
His first season there was cut short just four snaps into his Jets debut because of a torn left Achilles tendon. He worked his way back and started every game this past season, but the results on the field were inconsistent.
While his 28 touchdown passes and 3,897 passing yards both rank third for a single season in franchise history, Rodgers was not the dynamic playmaker he once was.
He had a vintage Rodgers performance in his final game with the Jets, throwing a season-high four touchdown passes in a win over the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 5, but those types of moments in his short New York tenure were few and far between.