The chess match continues between the Jets and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers wants the Jets to make the first move. He quite possibly hopes they’ll decide to move on, making him a free agent.
New Jets coach Aaron Glenn is “open to” the idea of keeping Rodgers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
The report doesn’t mention whether new G.M. Darren Mougey is open to it as well.
Rodgers has a $35 million option bonus and a $2.5 million base salary for 2025, the last year of his contract. None of the money is guaranteed.
Releasing him with a post-June 1 designation would result in a $14 million cap charge this year, plus another $35 million in 2026.
There’s a difference between being “open to” something and definitely wanting to do it. Glenn could have certain conditions he’d apply to another year with Rodgers. For instance, Glenn could make it clear that the friends-and-former-teammates model will end, and that Rodgers’s seat at the personnel table will be revoked. Glenn, who has learned plenty from Bill Parcells, also could tell Rodgers to ditch his Tuesday afternoon bully pulpits with Pat McAfee and company.
It has seemed for weeks that Rodgers wants the Jets to end it. He has periodically needled owner Woody Johnson, and Rodgers has complained about leaks in the organization. Glenn (and Mougey) could turn the tables on Rodgers, making it clear that he has a spot on the roster — if he’s willing to do things their way.
Things will need to move fairly quickly. The Jets will be in the market for a veteran quarterback in free agency, if Rodgers won’t be back. And Rodgers will need to explore whether there’s another team with which he can finish his career, if his career with the Jets ends up being finished.