The New York Jets announced Thursday they told quarterback Aaron Rodgers they are moving on without him next season.
While Rodgers hasn’t said whether he intends to continue playing for a 21st NFL season, the Jets — with new general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn in charge — have officially ruled out a return to New York.
In a joint statement issued by the team, Mougey and Glenn said they met with the 41-year-old quarterback last week and informed him of their plans.
“It was important to have this discussion now to provide clarity and enable each of us the proper time to plan for our respective futures,” Mougey and Glenn said in the statement. “We want to thank him for the leadership, passion, and dedication he brought to the organization and wish him success moving forward.”
The four-time MVP, who’s the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 touchdown passes in the regular season, has one year of non-guaranteed money left on his contract with the Jets.
New York would absorb a $49 million dead money charge next season unless it designates Rodgers a post-June 1 cut and can spread out that charge over two years.
In April 2023, Rodgers was traded to the Jets after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers — looking to help the franchise end a Super Bowl drought which dates to the glory days of Joe Namath and the 1968 season.
Rodgers’ first season in New York ended just four snaps into his debut because of a torn left Achilles tendon that sank the Jets’ Super Bowl hopes that were stirred by the QB’s arrival.
He worked his way back to the field to start every game this past season, but he and the offense struggled with consistency and results and the Jets finished 5-12.
“I personally want to thank Aaron for his time at the New York Jets,” owner Woody Johnson in a statement. “His arrival in 2023 was met with unbridled excitement and I will forever be grateful that he chose to join us to continue his Hall of Fame career. From Day 1, he embodied all that it meant to be a New York Jet, embraced our fans and immersed himself in our city. That is what I will remember most when I look back at his time here.
“He will always be welcome, and I wish him only the best in whatever he chooses to do next.”
Rodgers’ 28 touchdown passes and 3,897 yards passing both rank third for a single season in franchise history. But he lacked some mobility early in his return and then dealt with a few additional leg injuries, including a significant hamstring ailment.
The Jets’ offense with Rodgers struggled to produce, the defense was a shell of its formerly dominant self and it cost both general manager Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh their jobs in the middle of the season.
In what turned out to be his final appearance with New York, Rodgers threw a season-high four touchdown passes in a win over Miami on Jan. 5.
It was a vintage performance — and a somewhat frustrating flash to fans of how things could have gone for Rodgers and the Jets.
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