Jets Make Right Call To Move Forward Without Rodgers

Spielman’s Sketchy Ascension To Advisor Role

The Jets will actually make a wise organizational decision when they part ways with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. According to Sunday’s report by FOX’s Jay Glazer, Rodgers, who will turn 42 during the 2025 campaign, met with the team last week but was told it would be going in another direction.

This way, the Jets will have the ability to clean up all the dead money salary cap deferrals from prior General Manager Joe Douglas’ misguided win-now risks. The accounting for Rodgers’ $49 million hit can be taken all at once or split over the next two seasons--$14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026—if his release is a post June 1 designation. In that latter case, however, the Jets would be required to keep Rodgers’ $23.5 million salary plus prorated bonus on their books from the opening of the free agency period through June 2.

That’s still less pain than if the Jets stuck with Rodgers for a third season, because the dead money hit could then jump to around $63 million in 2026 under the terms of his current contract. Considering the Jets just went 5-12 when they were so certain Rodgers would put them on the level of Super Bowl participants Philadelphia and Kansas City, cutting bait and starting fresh with a new General Manager/Head Coach combo was the rational move.

What I found curious was that the news leaked a few days after Rick Spielman joined the organization as a “senior football advisor.” As of this writing, the Jets had no comment on the Rodgers report, nor have they made any announcement regarding further executive additions; Spielman himself declared his hiring on a podcast. To be clear, we might not ever know who lit the fuse on the bomb of the Super Bowl Sunday dump; I’m just speculating.

Here’s why: Spielman, a former Minnesota executive from 2006-2021, had been a principal in The 33^rd Team, the group which Jets owner Woody Johnson engaged to assist with his organization’s revamping after Douglas and interim Head Coach Jeff Ulbrich were let go. Wait, did Spielman just pull a Dick Cheney?

Not quite, because Spielman insisted he was only there to act as a sounding board for new GM Darren Mougey, who would be the final decision maker on all football matters. Well, I guess that’s kind of like what a United States V.P. does. And Johnson also seems like the type who can be easily swayed, so…

Obviously, the politics at One Jets Drive are not known to me. Still. I warned you previously about my skepticism regarding The 33^rd Team (Jets’ Searches Appear To Be Conducted By Agenda-Driven Firm). And though I have zero proof of anything untoward, there was a report (unconfirmed) that Washington Assistant GM Lance Newmark took himself out of the running for the Jets GM gig after he was deemed a finalist because he was unhappy with the process, particularly The 33^rd Team’s involvement.

The Jets then settled on Mougey, formerly Denver’s Assistant GM, on January 25. Mougey, 39, doesn’t have a ton of executive experience—he was a scout five years ago—but he came with a glowing reference from Broncos GM George Paton.

Around the same time as Spielman made his announcement, multiple outlets reported that the Jets hired a co-director of player personnel. That would be Rob Paton, a Broncos scout since 2017 and the nephew of, you guessed it. George Paton.

We’ll know more about Spielman’s involvement by how the Jets plan to address the QB position, a forever quest, in the next two months. I’d say keep an eye on Kirk Cousins, an average QB whom Spielman made quite rich in Minnesota. The 36-year old Cousins’ immobility wouldn’t make him my choice as Rodgers’ replacement, but he could be available for pennies on the dollar after losing the Atlanta starting job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. this past season.

From my own gathering, Spielman is well-respected around the league for his football and organizational acumen. His younger brother Chris has been credited with helping Detroit turn around its cycles of failure from his position as special assistant to the owner and CEO, with newly hired Jets HC Aaron Gleen then cast as Lions Defensive Coordinator. Maybe Rick Spielman can provide similar value added in an even more dysfunctional situation in New York. Readers of this forum know that I’ve been calling for the Jets to add someone with gravitas to their front office, and how fortuitous it was that such a person fell into Johnson’s lap, right?

And the new brain trust got off to a good start, as I give its first reported move a base hit. Whether it came about via a clean line drive or a sketchy bad hop off the specialty-curated infield lip doesn’t matter when you’re a franchise that has taken a playoff 0-fer over the last 14 years.