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The New York Jets are moving on from Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback. After two disastrous seasons with the future Hall of Famer in New York, new coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey are turning the page. A report surfaced that the Jets asked Rodgers to stop doing The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and he refused. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport clarified the conversation between the team and the player on Thursday.
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: No, the #Jets did not release Aaron Rodgers because he refused to stop doing the @PatMcAfeeShow. They never asked him to stop and didn't view it as a distraction. The final decision was far more collective. pic.twitter.com/A0N5A3FulJ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 14, 2025
“From what I am told, there were no ultimatums. I know there was a report that was like ‘Well the Jets don’t want Aaron Rodgers to do the Pat McAfee Show and if he agrees not to we’ll bring him back.’ It wasn’t like that.”
Rapoport continued, “It was really more like, ‘If you go on there, can you maybe use a little more discretion?’ And they can’t tell him to come to OTAs, that’s not allowed. But it’s like ‘We’d like you to be around more.'”
Rapoport later clarified he was not saying that Dianna Russini’s report was incorrect, but that it got spun into something it wasn’t once it got out there. The Aaron Rodgers experiment is over for the Jets but big questions still loom.
While the Jets have very low expectations coming into 2025, they still need a quarterback. Tyrod Taylor and Jordan Travis are the quarterbacks under contract but a new face could be coming in. Free-agent options include Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Sam Darnold, who the Jets picked in the 2018 first round.
Whoever the Jets pick as their next quarterback, they cannot be as much of an off-field distraction as Rodgers. While Rapoport is correct, distractions will find New York regardless, no Pat McAfee appearances will help the team’s public standing. But they need a quiet season so the coach and GM can build a winning culture.
There is a slim chance that the Jets use their first-round pick on a quarterback this year. They have a lot of holes to fill on their roster and the quarterback class is not deep enough to warrant a pick at number 7. Glenn and Mougey should put in a stopgap quarterback like Taylor to take the time to evaluate every other position.
Jets fans won’t have to watch The Pat McAfee Show waiting for updates on their team this year as Aaron Rodgers is out the door.
The post NFL rumors: Jets’ rumored Aaron Rodgers-Pat McAfee ‘ultimatum’ gets clarification appeared first on ClutchPoints.
