Jets were right to turn down Aaron Rodgers last-second pleas for a another chance

The New York Jets' decision to move on from Aaron Rodgers wasn’t just bold, it was absolutely the right move. After a dismal 2024 campaign that ended with a 5-12 record, it is clearly time for a reset.

Rodgers may be a future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, but not every relationship works, and this one simply wasn’t built to last. Besides that, if we’re being honest, Rodgers has looked past his prime since his last year in Green Bay — but not many were willing to admit it. The old regime under Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas may have taken the bait, but Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey won't be as easily bamboozled.

Expectations were too high

From the start, the Rodgers experiment stacked the odds against success. Missing minicamps slowed his chemistry-building with the team initially. The Achilles injury derailed the Jets’ season early in ’23 after basically betting everything on Rodgers. By the time 2024 came around, expectations were so high that there weren’t too many QBs who could’ve possibly lived up to them.

Rodgers' performance stood out on paper. Yet paper champs don’t equal automatic success on the field. The Jets struggled with red zone inefficiency (ranking 21st league-wide) and discipline problems as the Jets led the NFL with 8.1 penalties per game. All the blame doesn’t fall solely on Rodgers, but a so-called “elite” QB is supposed to elevate a team. That’s partially what the Jets paid him to do and it didn’t happen.

The fact that Rodgers arrogantly thought he should be allowed to hold up this franchise for another year is an indictment of what we've always known about Rodgers. His "me first" attitude has rarely worked when it came to winning the ultimate prize. Rodgers won one Super Bowl, which is nothing to overlook.

However, a player as talented as Rodgers should have at least played in multiple Super Bowls — and he never made it back. Knowing what we know now, it isn't shocking to see that he's never made it back to the top of the mountain.

Rodgers must go for financial reasons if nothing else

Cutting Rodgers will hurt some initially. By letting Rodgers go (officially, after June 1) New York will save over $9 million in cap space although they’ll be penalized a dead-cap amount of $14 million for 2025, then another $35 million in ‘26. Were they to do the deed before June 1, the Jets would take on the entire $49 million cap hit this season, along with losing over $25 million in cap space in the offseason. The Jets front office is finally acting like the adults in the room and it's a good sign.

So, what comes next for the Jets? It seems New York will explore the free-agent market while keeping an eye on emerging QB prospects. They could kick the tires on veterans like Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields as a bridge gap possibility. Alternatively, the draft is a couple of months away and with the seventh overall pick, you never know. Rebuilding will take time, but a fresh start at the most important position on the field is at the top of the list for the Jets.