Rodgers’ Bid To Create Sympathy For Lost Jets Gig Fails

AP Photo/Ian Walton

As someone who has been on both sides of the table in business settings, I can attest that there isn’t a perfect way to fire people or for those who were let go to receive the news with acquiescence, contrary to how George Clooney’s portrayed the process in the 2009 movie “Up in the Air.”

At least the film’s screenwriter got it right when he had Clooney’s character say, “There is nothing more personal” than such an interaction between an employer and an employee.

So on one hand I can forgive quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whom the Jets released last month, for being bitter about it. It’s the first time that has occurred in a career that will one day undoubtedly be honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Rodgers took to the friendly confines of ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday to spew some venom at the Jets. Aside from the non-newsworthy statement that he hasn’t made up his mind about playing in 2025—the Steelers are believed to be the favorites to sign him if he does--what got the most attention was his disdain for new Head Coach Aaron Glenn, with a slighter shade thrown at General Manager Darren Mougey for not inquiring about all of the franchise’s inherent problems, none of which he relayed to McAfee.

That’s news, that the Jets are dysfunctional? This is a team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in 15 years, the longest drought among any team in the four major professional sports leagues. We all know why (looking up to the owner’s office).

To me, Rodgers seemed most disgusted that such a short discussion, which he estimated took 15 minutes, could have taken place over the phone. The emphasis I heard on the sentence where he talked about needlessly flying across the country was the closing “on my own dime.”

Rodgers might have generated some sympathy if he hadn’t taken the Jets for a $35 million option bonus last season. The Jets then decided on the “fool me once” axiom and told Rodgers that he was no longer wanted, replacing him with former Steeler Justin Fields in the free agent market.

Look, I have never cared what Rodgers has said on his paid ESPN gig since he announced he wanted to come to New York during the 2023 offseason. All the nonsense about politics or his views on vaccines and alternative healing protocols was irrelevant. I just hoped that Rodgers was still good enough on the football field to transform an inept Jets offense into one that could win games in the fourth quarter.

He did it twice, once at Jacksonville in Week 15 after the Jets were already dead-and-buried. The Jets previously had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game in the last few minutes several other times, and Rodgers came up short. He threw wide receiver Mike Williams under the bus for running an incorrect route on a pass that was intercepted with about 45 seconds remaining at Minnesota in the Jets 23-17 Week 5 defeat. Never mind that Rodgers threw two other picks that day, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Rodgers earned a mulligan when he succumbed to a ruptured Achilles on the fourth snap of the 2023 opener versus Buffalo, but he swore he could do the job the following season. While he wasn’t Zach Wilson awful, Rodgers ranked 22^nd among the 32 qualifying QBs in rbsdm.com’s expected points added/completion percentage over expected composite metric whole throwing for a pedestrian 6.7 yards per attempt. He played all 17 games and the team went 5-12. And he couldn’t comprehend why the organization wanted to make a change?

The Jets accommodated Rodgers on many turns, bringing in his buddies like wide receivers Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, and Davante Adams (the only one who could still play) while hiring the overwhelmed Nathaniel Hackett to be the Offensive Coordinator. Though the organization fined Rodgers for missing a mandatory minicamp last June while travelling to Egypt as per the CBA, there were no further repercussions.

Those days are over. If, as Rodgers alleged, Glenn told him that he would “undermine” the team’s new direction by presumably taking center stage, Glenn was right to an extent. But it wouldn’t matter if Rodgers delivered on Sundays. It’s because he didn’t that he is no longer a Jet.

That’s difficult for anyone to hear, never mind one as accomplished in his field as Rodgers. Of course, he still has a platform where he can talk about the hurt.

And Jets fans are free to not listen and move on.