Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers could be following general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh out of New York, according to reports.
The Jets had entered the Rodgers era with high hopes after Douglas struck a blockbuster deal to bring the four-time MVP to the Big Apple in 2023 in exchange for multiple picks with the Green Bay Packers.
But with Douglas, the architect of the trade, now fired, just a month after head coach Saleh faced the axe, questions remain about Rodgers’ fate in New York.
And, according to multiple reports, Rodgers’ tenure with the Jets could be coming to an end after just two seasons.
An inside source said ESPN’s Rich Cimini that Jets owner Woody Johnson is highly unlikely to bring the former Super Bowl winner back in 2025.
“The Jets have lost seven of their last eight games in what was supposed to be a winnable season now with Rodgers, whose future is cloudy,” Cimini wrote following Douglas’ firing on Tuesday.
The New York Jets are reportedly already leaning toward making a decision on Aaron Rodgers’ fate.
The franchise fired general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday, leaving questions about the QB
“A source said he would be ‘surprised’ if Johnson brought Rodgers back in 2025.”
The source added that Rodgers’ $23.5 million cap charge in 2025 is not guaranteed.
Other SNY report He stated that Jets players had already been ‘checked out’ and many were ‘just ready for (the season) to be over’ before also suggesting that Rodgers is not expected to suit up again at MetLife next season.
‘There are seven weeks left in this season. It will give the Jets a boost for another rebuild. They are looking for a new CEO. They will be looking for a new coach,” SNY’s Connor J. Hughes reported.
‘Sources told SNY that the team also prefers to move on from Aaron Rodgers. But those are the easy decisions. How to fill those gaps poses a much bigger challenge.”
Rodgers returned to the Jets after being ruled out for his entire debut season with the team after suffering a torn Achilles in their 2023 opener against Buffalo.
Despite a miserable 3-8 season so far this year, the veteran had stopped talking about retirement earlier this month.
“I think so, yeah,” Rodgers said when asked about his plans to return. Doubling down on his previous hopes from last offseason to play “two, three, four more years.”
Multiple reports suggested that owner Woody Johnson is ready to move on from the veteran.
“Not really, not because of the negative,” he added. “Not really, no.”
However, even if Rodgers intends to return to the NFL next season, it appears it won’t be with the Jets now.
The Jets were supposed to be legitimate playoff contenders this season, with a fully healthy Aaron Rodgers and plenty of weapons at their disposal.
Still, even after trading for Davante Adams, the Jets are languishing toward the bottom of the AFC as they own a 3-8 record.
After firing Saleh earlier in the season, it appears the next man to be shown the door was Douglas and former Browns GM Phil Savage will step in as interim, signaling a complete dismantling and rebuild are probably in the cards for the Jets.
Douglas had been with the Jets since 2019 and joined the team after that year’s draft process. Then-head coach Adam Gase led the Jets’ recruiting that season.
During his tenure, he scored many hits. The 2022 NFL Draft was a particularly high point: Douglas selected star cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson in the top ten before adding pass rusher Jermaine Johnson later in the first round and running back Breece Hall in the second round.
Douglas also managed to pull off a heist of sorts by trading safety Jamal Adams and a fourth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Bradley McDougald, a third-round pick and two first-round picks (one of which was used on Garrett Wilson ). .
Douglas was fired the same season the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh (left)
But, like any general manager, he also had many problems; the most notable was that the Jets never solved the problem at quarterback.
Douglas was the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After Trevor Lawrence was taken first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Douglas took BYU quarterback Zach Wilson second.
Wilson failed to fulfill his potential in New York and was eventually traded to the Broncos after three poor seasons as the Jets’ starter.
Douglas was also the man responsible for engineering the Rodgers trade last season. In total, the Jets received Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ first-round pick in 2023 (selecting linebacker Will McDonald IV), and their fifth-round pick in 2023.
In exchange, the Packers received the Jets’ 2023 first-round pick (used to select pass rusher Lukas Van Ness), their 2023 second-round pick (used to select tight end Luke Musgrave), and their sixth-round pick. 2023 (used on kicker Anders Carlson).
The Packers also got a conditional second-round pick in 2024 that they moved to the New Orleans Saints in a swap of second-round picks (Saints selected cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, Packers selected linebacker Edgerrin Cooper).
Rodgers was injured four plays into the 2023 season and so far in 2024 has not lived up to the expectations placed on him by Jets fans, even after Jets management did everything possible to appease the Super Bowl winner acquiring wide receivers he had previously worked with. with.
This season, Douglas was at the center of three changes that affected the team. The first was an offseason deal with the Philadelphia Eagles that saw the Jets sign linebacker Haason Reddick in exchange for a conditional 2026 second-round pick that likely becomes a 2026 third-round pick.
Douglas was responsible for moving BYU quarterback Zach Wilson to second overall in the 2021 draft.
Douglas was also responsible for acquiring one of Rodgers’ favorite receivers, Davante Adams.
Reddick was kept out of training camps and practices, going so far as to demand a trade, until he finally came to terms on a new deal with the team in late October.
Douglas was also responsible for acquiring one of Rodgers’ favorite wide receivers, Davante Adams, in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick that will likely turn into a third-round pick unless Adams is voted to the first or second team All- Pro.
Neither of those things are likely, as Adams currently ranks 42nd in the league in receiving yards and owns just two receiving touchdowns.
After acquiring Adams, Douglas traded wide receiver Mike Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the trade deadline in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
In his first game with his new team, Williams caught a game-winning touchdown and then hit back at Rodgers after taking criticism from the quarterback.