Revealing quote proves NY Jets are officially done with Aaron Rodgers

Say what you want about Aaron Rodgers, but throughout the seven-car pile-up that was the NY Jets car crash of a season, he has not lost his sense of humor. He's still able to laugh despite the organization's infrastructure burning down around him.

On Wednesday, Aaron Rodgers was asked about whether anyone internally has expressed interest in bringing him back. Rodgers paused and peered downward, something he does regularly to digest the question presented to him.

"Sure, a lot of people have... not the people who are making those decisions," Rodgers told reporters.

With this, he and the gaggle of reporters surrounding him all laughed.

Aaron Rodgers knows his days with the NY Jets are numbered

While this quote by Rodgers was a moment of jest, it was also telling at the same time. A lot of discourse regarding the remainder of the Jets' season is centered around whether Rodgers will be back in New York next year. He has made it clear that if he chooses to return, the Jets would be his "first option."

But for him to return, the Jets need to be onboard. And considering no one in charge has approached him to pow-wow about the prospects of returning, including the embattled owner Woody Johnson, the writing seems to be on the walls of the One Jets Drive facility.

Or maybe the reason for this is simply that no one is actually in charge. With no GM and a coach who is almost certainly not returning, that only leaves one man in charge of steering the boat in the right direction.

Unfortunately for the Jets, that man is Mr. Johnson, and call me crazy, but I don't think Woody's expertise lies anywhere near football. He has made that abundantly clear for two decades.

So if Johnson is truly the one manning the ship, is anyone manning the ship at all really? And if he is, he clearly has no desire to bring back the aging quarterback. If he did, one could reasonably presume he would have at least had some preliminary discussions with Rodgers or at least someone in the front office (whatever the "front office" even is these days).

So it's pretty clear that the Jets plan to move on. Rodgers may want to come back, and it is truly admirable if he remains dedicated to the franchise with essentially no reason to be, but this quote seems to indicate he won't.

The vaunted Mike Tannebaum will find the franchise its next GM, who will then hire a coach and likely find a new QB. Whether that be the draft, free agency, or a trade, it's clear that the quarterback will not be Aaron Rodgers.

More NY Jets news and analysis: