Aaron Rodgers’ disappointing two-year stint with the New York Jets is over. And the team’s only Super Bowl trophy is still standing by itself.
The Jets announced Thursday they told the 41-year-old quarterback 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 Rodgers last week and informed him “that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback.”
“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 left on his contract, worth a non-guaranteed $37.5 million.
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. If the Jets do that, Rodgers would remain on their roster — while carrying a $23.5 salary cap charge — until the start of the NFL’s new league year on March 12.
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 that dates to the glory days of Joe Namath and the 1968 season.
At his introductory news conference, Rodgers noted how the franchise’s only Vince Lombardi Trophy looked “lonely” in the team’s lobby.
The hope was Rodgers would change all that.
The reality ended up being more of the same for the Jets.
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. Rodgers finished his Jets tenure with six wins — including the victory during which he was injured — in 18 starts.
“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.”
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