It's official. Jet needs a new quarterback.
The team officially announced plans to release veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Thursday.
The move has been anticipated for some time, with Jets coach and general manager reporting that Fox Sports reported on Super Bowl Sunday, informing Rogers that the Jets were on the move last week at an in-person meeting. I'm doing it.
“I personally want to thank Aaron for his time with the New York Jets.” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement released by the team. Thursday afternoon. “His arrival in 2023 met with unlimited excitement. I am forever grateful that he chose to join us to continue his Hall of Fame career. From the first day, he was embodied everything it was meant to be a New York Jetman, embraced our fans and immersed ourselves in our city. When I look back at his time here, it was my most I remember. He is always welcome and I hope that whatever he chooses to do next is the best.”
The move concludes the unfortunate chapter of the Jets and Rogers who came to the Jets in 2023 with a lot of hope for him.
The Jets will need to free him and decide whether to take away $49 million in dead money in 2025 at the salary cap or designate it as a June 1 release.
This allows them to split the cap hits in two years – $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026. I'll actually release him.
Rodgers, 41, is free to sign any team after that. Rogers' $23.5 million salary cap will remain in the Jets book until June 1st.
The Jets sent the Packers a package of draft picks to acquire Rodgers in April 2023.
The hope was that four MVPs and future Hall of Fame inductees could provide the Jets with a cultural change and boost their team from the losing path. The trade was filled with lots of fanfare and Rogers, and the Jets were featured in “Hard Knock” that summer.
The pre-match introduction of Rodgers' first game in “Monday Night Football” against the Bills was one of the most electric moments the Jets had at MetLife Stadium. However, the mood quickly changed when Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon into his left ankle on the fourth play of the game.
Rodgers lost the season and the Jets went 7-10 with quarterbacks Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Sheemian.
With Rodgers' return in 2024, the Jets hoped more to join last season. But it didn't go as planned.
Rogers and the team struggled, and head coach Robert Saleha was fired five games with the team, 2-3. The change in coaching to Jeff Ulbric appears to only make things worse, and the Jets continued their spiral. They finished the year 5-12, with general manager Joe Douglas fired in November.
Rodgers spent his seasons up and down, suffering from a foot injury in the middle of the season. He threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
There have been some good moments where some people think the Jets should bring him back in 2025, but he has been extremely struggling with the bill, the best team the Jets have played in their last month. did.
The Jets hired Aaron Glenn and Darren Moogie as new coaches and GMs in January, and their first big move is to move on from Rodgers.
“Last week we met up with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at the quarterback,” Glenn and Moogie said in a statement. “It was important to have this discussion right now and give each of us the right time to plan each futures. The leadership and passion he brought to the organization. , thank you for your dedication and hope he moves forward.”
The problem is where the Jets go to quarterback. Tyrod Taylor is on a contract and gives the Jets an experienced quarterback, but there is a durability question.
With the Jets holding the seventh overall pick, it's unlikely they'll be able to get Camward and Chedure Sanders, who are considered the top tiers of quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Jets drafted the quarterback on the second day and were able to pair him with Taylor.
Free agency options aren't that appealing. If the Vikings don't re-sign Sam Darnold, he will become the top free-agent quarterback, but it's unlikely that Darnold wants to return to the team he spent his first three seasons. Justin Fields is another possibility of free agency.
There is also speculation that Atlanta could cut Kirk's cousin. He has a history of Rick Spielman. Rick Spielman was recently hired as a senior advisor to the Jets. Spielman signed his cousin when he was the Vikings GM.
It will be another offseason of quarterback drama for the Jets.
