Aaron Rodgers‘ career is straight out of a Game of Thrones script—dominating with the Packers, and had some epic seasons, but that fairytale ending? Nowhere in sight. After a brief stint with A-Rod, the new regime of the Jets finally came to a decision that it’s best to go in different directions. The reasons? Oh, there’s many. From on-field drama to the off-field distractions. Just name it and you’ll find Rodgers already there.
Whether it’s from Pat McAfee Show drama to their 5-12 brutality in the past season, Rodgers has been under scrutiny for some time now. And no one knows these issues better than The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who’s been covering the Jets for a couple of years now. On Wednesday, Russini appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and when asked what happened between Rodgers and Aaron Glenn, her response was simple: the new regime wants a fresh start. And they want to move in a different direction with Rodgers. The kicker?
What really went down between @AaronRodgers12 and the @nyjets? And did @TheAthleticNFL insider drop a breadcrumb about a possible home for the future Hall of Famer?#NFL #NFLCombine #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/aJkHl1MDwk
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 19, 2025
A few days ago, the New York Post stated that A-Rod is eager to continue his career with the Jets. Huh! That’s a new chapter in this wild saga. When Rich Eisen asked the same question to Russini, she declared that this news was nothing but false. “I don’t think Rogers needs to leak that for the world to know he still wants to play,” she said. “I don’t know where that came from and I refuse to do the source off and dig on who’s saying what?”
You see, according to Russini, Rodgers‘ chapter with the Jets was already closed a while ago. On top of that, the 41-year-old QB already knew that his time in New York had come to an end. That means the news of Rodgers pleading to stay with the Jets is just laughable. I mean, he’s not gonna contact the Jets’ owner, Woody Johnson, and say “I can lead the team and fix all the problems.” That’s so not Aaron Rodgers.
In fact, when Woody Johnson was hiring a new head coach, he asked every candidate if they should stick with Rodgers or not. Their answer? “NO!” And Dianna Russini just confirmed that. She went straight up and said, “I don’t believe any of that and I think, most of the candidates that interviewed for this head coaching job with the New York Jets were asked the question directly from Woody. ‘Do you think we should stick with Aaron Rodgers?’ So there was a time where they considered it, and everybody said the same thing. ‘No.’ No, you guys need to turn the page on him.”
The result? A few weeks ago, Rodgers met with the front office only to find out that they’re moving ahead for the 2025 season without him. After all, they want to get rid of the distractions.
Why the Jets don’t want Aaron Rodgers anymore?
“Last week we met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback.”And just like that, Rodgers’ chapter in New York comes to a close. But not that Aaron Glenn doesn’t like Rodgers or the QB doesn’t like the team. Nah, it’s way ahead of that. See, Rodgers isn’t just known for slinging passes—his name pops up in plenty of other places, too.
Most notable? The Pat McAfee Show. Now, this is where things get really fun. Aaron Glenn’s team had asked Rodgers to stop appearing on Pat McAfee’s show if he wanted to be on the active team. The reason’s pretty simple. The head coach wanted a fresh start and was looking for someone who could lead the team without any distractions. Let that sink in for a moment.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks on the field after the game against the Miami Dolphins where he threw his 500th touchdown pass in his 20-year career in the final week of the NFL, American Football Herren, USA regular season at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, January 5, 2025. The Jets defeated the Dolphins 32- 20 and finish the season with 5 wins and 12 losses. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY NYP20250105113 JOHNxANGELILLO
Because Russini thinks that the McAfee show didn’t bother anyone, the organization believed that the QB was getting distracted. True. Because in the last season, the 41-year-old just recorded 5 wins and wrapped up his second season of the contract with 5-12. And with Glenn leading the team, he surely doesn’t want to repeat the same things. And Dianna Russini knows it very well.
“I think with the new regime, they just want to cut out the distractions,” Russini said. “They want to get rid of the circus and clean this up. And Woody Johnson made this higher because he wanted a leader of men, and there’s a reason why Aaron Glenn got this job. And I think part of that is to really do this cleanup and do this sweep to get the Jets back on track.”
So, with all that going down, Aaron Rodgers is now on the hunt for a new team—or better yet, a new home to wrap up his NFL journey. Ever since his news of departing from New York hit the headlines, Rodgers’ name has been swirling around with plenty of teams eyeing a potential deal. However, the 41-year-old is yet to put pen to paper.
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