Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be the savior of the New York Jets franchise. When Green Bay first traded the four-time NFL MVP and future Pro Football Hall of Famer to New York, many fans and analysts believed that he was the missing piece that would elevate one of the most disappointing franchises in all of sports to the level of Super Bowl contenders.
Of course, that did not happen. Rodgers tore his Achilles four snaps into the 2023 NFL season and was lost for the year. The Jets struggled to a 7-10 record for the second year in a row while the Packers went 9-8 and made the Playoffs in Jordan Love‘s first year as a starter.
While New York’s 2023 was yet another letdown in their long history of letdowns, they were optimistic that a healthy Rodgers in 2024 would bring them back to being competitive.
But they were wrong again.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets Are Having a Terrible Season
After starting the season 2-3, New York fired their head coach, Robert Saleh, who had been instrumental in recruiting Rodgers to the team after the 2022 NFL season. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who had been hired in a further attempt to lure the former Packers quarterback to New York.
In addition to this controversial development, the Jets went out and traded for former Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, one of Rodgers’ favorite teammates and best friends.
None of these moves, though, had their desired effect. Since firing Saleh, New York has gone 1-5. The offense has been inconsistent at best while Rodgers is having the worst season of his career with a 63.4% completion percentage, 2,442 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.9.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Admits He Had a Hand in the Firing of Jets General Manager Joe Douglas
Heading into the 2024 season, Jets general manager Joe Douglas was also entering the final year of his six-year contract. After New York lost their last game before their Bye Week, owner Woody Johnson decided that it was time to part ways with Douglas instead of allowing him to finish out the year.
While no one expected Douglas to get extended, few thought he would be fired midseason since he was in the final year of his contract. Some speculate that Johnson will be joining the Donald Trump administration when the President-elect takes office (he served as Trump’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term), so he may have wanted to fire Douglas now so that he could pick his own general manager. The last time Johnson worked for the Trump Administration, he was not around to hire the head coach. His brother was the one who hired Saleh in the first place.
Of course, no one would have been fired if Rodgers and the Jets had played the way many believed that they would. In this light, Rodgers told Pat McAfee that he “had a hand” in firing the former general manger:
Prior to this season, Rodgers told the New York media that if he did not play well, he and many others would not be back in 2025. Those words now appear to be prophetic as his own future with the franchise appears to be in doubt. While he said that if he decides to play again in 2025 that he wants to stay with the Jets, there is speculation that they do not want him back.
That being said, it will be very difficult for the Jets to simply move on from Rodgers due to his dead cap hit. It will be very interesting to see how this whole situation plays out.
