Davante Adams stunned by NY Jets’ harsh treatment of Aaron Rodgers

The New York Jets officially turned the page on the Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams chapter of their franchise last month, releasing both players as part of a much-needed offseason reset.

While the organization has since moved forward under new head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey, the ripple effects of those decisions are still being felt.

Rodgers made headlines last week when he publicly aired his frustrations about how his exit from the Jets was handled during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He called his meeting with the Jets “disrespectful” and expressed disappointment with the new regime, specifically Glenn.

His comments sparked plenty of debate, but now, a new voice has added more detail to the story. In a recent interview with The Athletic’s Mike Silver, Adams revealed what Rodgers told him in the immediate aftermath of that meeting.

The star wide receiver offered a glimpse into just how upset Rodgers truly was and made it clear he was "shocked" by the Jets’ blunt handling of the situation.

"We golfed together on a Wednesday [Feb. 5] in Vegas, at Shadow Creek, and then [Rodgers] told me he was going to [meet with the Jets] on Thursday [Feb. 6] and then come back, and we’d play again Friday. And he was just in such a bad mood [after the meeting] that he hit me up and was like, ‘I’m not coming back, bro.’ He’s like, ‘This was horrible; they just disrespected me completely."

Davante Adams

Davante Adams was "shocked" by how the NY Jets treated Aaron Rodgers

Adams' immediate assumption was that Rodgers "was being a little dramatic." After all, Rodgers has a flair for the theatrical, and Adams figured he might be exaggerating the situation. But as Rodgers explained exactly what went down, he realized just how upset his close friend was.

"And I was shocked because I didn’t think anybody had the balls to, for lack of better words, to hit him with it like that. Just flat out — ‘Yeah, I think we’re just gonna do something different. We’re gonna move in a different direction.’ It was shocking, but right from that moment, I knew there was no chance that I’d be back there."

Davante Adams

Adams quickly realized that Rodgers' departure meant his days in New York were numbered as well. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver would've needed to restructure his contract to remain in New York either way, and with the Jets signaling a shift toward a retool of sorts, it became clear he wasn't in their plans.

The Jets released Adams prior to the start of free agency, and he went on to sign a two-year, $46 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Adams did take a thinly veiled shot at the Jets in his interview with Silver.

One of Adams’ top priorities this offseason was finding a stable, well-run organization. In fact, he even joked that he needed to make sure he wasn’t the reason his last two teams — the Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders — had been so “dysfunctional.”

The Jets clearly weren’t interested in dragging things out, and Rodgers didn’t seem prepared for just how swiftly the door would close. Adams may have been surprised by the bluntness of Glenn and the Jets, but even he knew, once that meeting happened, there was no going back.

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