Aaron Rodgers’ future: QB reportedly pleaded with Jets to keep him for the 2025 season

When the Jets‘ brass met with Aaron Rodgers, the future Hall of Fame quarterback apparently made an unsuccessful pitch to remain with the team. 

Rodgers reportedly pleaded with the Jets to keep him, according to the New York Post. The report said that Rodgers aggressively urged New York to keep him for the next one or two years. Once a decision was made, though, Rodgers reportedly accepted it and “slipped into the darkness for a few days.”

Rodgers’ reported actions during the meeting aren’t surprising, as Rodgers has said several times that he enjoyed his time with the Jets and wanted to continue his career there. It’s also not a big surprise that the Jets’ new brass decided to go in a different direction. 

During their introductory press conference, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Aaron Mougey were non-committal about Rodgers’ future with the team. Glenn specifically made it clear that questions about Rodgers wouldn’t dominate the press conference, a stance that offered insight into Glenn’s team-first coaching philosophy. 

The Jets’ decision to move on from Rodgers may have something to do with his age (41) and the fact that he didn’t have his best season in 2024. But philosophical differences probably played a much bigger role in the Jets decision to go in a different direction. 

At the end of the Jets’ disappointing 2024 season, Rodgers said that 20 years in the NFL had altered his perspective on success. He essentially said football is bigger than wins and losses, that the friendships developed inside the building throughout a season are the things that truly endure. 

While that may be true, that’s probably not the attitude that a first-time head coach and GM want the face of their franchise to have. They need to win, and they are likely looking for a quarterback that shares their desire to do so. 

Speaking of the face of the franchise, it was clear that the Jets’ new brass wasn’t crazy about the attention Rodgers receives. New York reportedly told Rodgers to stop doing his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show if he was going to stay with the team. While Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, it’s clear that some of the things that come with him being on your team simply wasn’t worth it for the Jets’ new brass. 

Now that his time with the Jets has ended, Rodgers has to made a decision between retiring or playing for his third team in four years. Expect Rodgers to make a decision soon, as teams are continuing their preparations for free agency as well as the upcoming draft.