NY Jets have made their Aaron Rodgers decision (and it's the correct one)

The NY Jets have reportedly made their Aaron Rodgers decision. In what comes as the first and most important move of Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey's first year with the Jets, the team has decided to move on from the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Reports emerged Sunday morning that the Jets were expected to part ways with Rodgers barring any unforeseen developments. Those reports were confirmed by FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer later in the day.

Glazer is reporting that Rodgers flew to New Jersey to meet with the Jets last week and was informed that that team will be moving on from him. It's unclear if Rodgers plans to play in 2025, but as Glazer reports, it "won't be for the Jets."

This comes weeks after Glenn told reporters at his introductory press conference that the team planned to meet with Rodgers to discuss their plans in the near future. Those plans evidently do not include Rodgers.

The NY Jets made the right decision moving on from Aaron Rodgers

The Rodgers conversation is a complicated one that expands well beyond his 2024 performance. Rodgers was a shell of his former self this past season, but even fighting through various injuries, he still proved to be a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL.

The Jets aren't necessarily moving on from Rodgers because they believe they can find a better short-term option on the open market. They're moving on for a variety of other reasons.

The first, and most obvious, relates to the financial implications of keeping him on the roster in 2025. Rodgers has a $35 million option bonus that triggers if he's on the Jets' roster come Week 1 of next season. That option bonus is why the dead cap ramifications become so severe if he's on the team this year.

The Jets can release Rodgers this offseason and take the full $49 million dead cap hit up front or split it between 2025 and 2026. But if Rodgers was on the roster in 2025, that dead cap hit would balloon to $63 million.

It seems unlikely that the Jets would be able to take that full dead cap hit up front in 2026, meaning the Jets would be forced to designate him as a post-June 1st cut and split the money between 2026 ($21 million) and 2027 ($42 million).

Unless you believe the Jets have a legitimate chance to compete for the Super Bowl next season, it's not worth it to significantly hinder the team's financial flexibility two years from now for the sake of one half-hearted "all-in" season.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz is reporting that the Jets' decision to move on from Rodgers "was more so about his contract and the significant dead money that would remain whenever they eventually parted ways" as opposed to his actual performance at this stage.

That said, it's not as if Rodgers was particularly impressive anyway. The only two qualified quarterbacks with a worse CPOE (completion percentage over expected) in 2024 were Anthony Richardson and Cooper Rush.

Rodgers also ranked 19th in EPA/play, 24th in success rate, 28th in completion percentage, and 28th in average air yards. Of course, he was hurt for a good portion of the season, but his health concerns and advancing age also have to be considered.

Rodgers hasn't put together a healthy season since 2021. He played through a broken thumb in 2022, tore his Achilles in 2023, and was forced to deal with various leg injuries in 2024. The Jets can't rely on him to stay healthy for a full season at this stage.

It's also fair to consider the emotional impact of retaining Rodgers. Rodgers comes with baggage and would prevent the Jets from fully starting fresh with a new regime. The relationship he had with the prior regime simply wasn't going to function the same way with Glenn and Mougey.

Rodgers would also have to learn a new system under first-time offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. If Engstrand’s scheme mirrors Ben Johnson’s in Detroit — heavy on play action and pre-snap motion — Rodgers would be a poor fit.

The Jets will likely turn to the 2026 NFL Draft in search of their long-term quarterback solution. That likely means toughing it out for a year with a less-than-stellar QB room while maintaining future financial flexibility.

The goal is to build sustained success — not put all your eggs in a half-empty basket. Moving on from Aaron Rodgers now allows the Jets to do that. It might sting in the short term, but this was ultimately the right decision for the future of the franchise.

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