The relationship between Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets apparently won’t survive a tumultuous season for both the quarterback and the team. Rodgers wants to play elsewhere in 2025, according to The Athletic, which also reported that Jets owner Woody Johnson has lost confidence in Rodgers’ ability to end the franchise’s 14-year playoff drought.
Things have gotten so bad that the Jets could place Rodgers on injured reserve or even decide to bench him in the coming weeks, according to the report, as the four-time league MVP has already suffered a number of nagging injuries. It’s not entirely out of the question that Rodgers might even be released by the Jets before the season ends.
As for his teammates, the report stated that there are some players who feel like the organization is “just tiptoeing around the fact that Rodgers isn’t the same player anymore.”
Rodgers, who opted to play for the Jets last offseason after a Hall of Fame run with the Packers, has reportedly had a strained relationship with the organization for months. The general belief is that Rodgers will want to continue playing in 2025, but it won’t be for the Jets, who are stuck in a 3-8 season.
The 2024 season has been nothing short of a disaster for both the Jets and Rodgers, who is in the midst of the worst year of his 20-year career. If there’s one positive for Rodgers, it’s the fact that he hasn’t missed a game due to injury, having missed virtually the entire 2023 season after injuring his Achilles tendon in the season opener.
It’s been an even worse year for Johnson, who fired coach Robert Saleh after just five games. He recently fired general manager Joe Douglas, as the Jets will need to find replacements for both men this season. One wonders which qualified candidates would want to work for Johnson given his short leash (with the exception of former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who is doing everything he can to get back on the sidelines).
Despite his struggles this season, Rodgers will certainly receive interest on the open market as there is a significant shortage of quality starting quarterbacks in the NFL. But for now, Rodgers and the Jets will continue to try to find a way to get through the final seven games of the 2024 season.