The New York Jets made the anticipated — and correct — decision to officially part ways with quarterback Aaron Rodgers this week, but not without the future Hall of Famer making one last plea to remain as the team’s signal-caller.
According to a report from the New York Post on Saturday, in his final meeting with Jets management, Rodgers pleaded with them to give him at least another year or two to stick with the organization as its quarterback.
It obviously did not work, and the Jets officially moved on.
Rodgers will almost certainly never admit to that sort of exit, but it makes sense why he might make that sort of plea to remain with the team despite two forgettable and disappointing seasons.
For one, if he could have persuaded the Jets to keep him, he would have been under contract for $37.5 million during the 2025 season.
Rodgers must know that there isn’t another team in the NFL that is willing to give him anything close to that number — not after the way he played in 2024.
He is going to turn 42 late next season, and his teams have won just 13 of the past 34 games he has started and completed. It’s not a great recent track record, and it’s not likely to get better in the future as he gets older.
Rodgers might also have a difficult time finding a new home at all. The teams in the market for a quarterback this offseason are almost certainly going to be looking for a younger, long-term option at the position. The only quarterback-needy team that is even in the universe of contender status is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they may not want to deal with the sideshow circus that Rodgers brings to town. They are also probably looking for long-term stability — or at least a cheap short-term option.
Even if he does find a team with a mutual interest, it’s unlikely he will get the sort of power and control he seemed to have with the Jets.
When the Jets acquired Rodgers prior to the 2023 season, the hope was that he could help turn the franchise into an instant contender. The Jets built everything around what Rodgers wanted, right down to the offensive coordinator, and brought in several of his preferred former teammates from Green Bay.
The entire ordeal turned out to be a mess. Rodgers tore his Achilles just four plays into his Jets career and missed the remainder of the 2023 season. When he returned in 2024, he was a shell of his former self. The Jets won fewer games with him (five) than they did in the two previous seasons (seven wins each in 2022 and 2023).
Along with the off-field distractions and chaos that Rodgers consistently brought, the entire thing was a bitterly disappointing ordeal — even by New York Jets standards. Everybody is probably happy to have a new quarterback in 2025, whoever it might be.
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