The New York Jets have officially informed quarterback Aaron Rodgers that the team will be moving in a different direction in the 2025 season.
We have informed Aaron Rodgers that we will be moving in a different direction at quarterback.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) February 13, 2025
Rodgers spent the past two seasons as a member of the Jets following an 18-year career with the Green Bay Packers, where he won four Most Valuable Player Awards and the Super Bowl in 2011.
Although Rodgers put up solid statistics during his singular healthy season in New York, finishing with 3,897 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, these numbers did little to help the Jets win games, as the team’s record was only 5-12.
New York informed Rodgers about the decision shortly after announcing the hire of new Head Coach Aaron Glenn. The franchise is now expected to move forward with a younger quarterback who matches the timeline of the rest of the roster.
The Jets will have to decide whether to release Rodgers before June 1 and take on a $49 million dead cap hit this season or designate him as a post-June 1 release and split the dead cap hit over two years, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Rodgers has subtly indicated that he would like to continue playing in the NFL and seemingly intended to join the Jets for one more season, but the 41-year-old quarterback will now have to find a new team during free agency.
Although multiple teams will be looking for quarterbacks in the 2025 season, very few options would make sense for the future Hall of Famer.
The biggest potential factor for Rodgers would be joining a franchise that he believes could compete at a high level, leaving very few teams available for the veteran quarterback.
The Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Las Vegas Raiders are each looking for a new quarterback in the upcoming season. However, none of these teams is expected to compete at a high level, and each will likely move forward with a young quarterback.
Two teams stand out as potential options for Rodgers in the 2025 season.
The most likely outcome is that Rodgers signs a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers due to his consistent level of play and the pre-existing relationship with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Another option for Rodgers is to join the Minnesota Vikings for one season; however, the expected emergence of rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy makes this scenario much more unlikely.
Rodgers will now have to begin preparing for another tumultuous summer as he looks to find a new team when NFL free agency starts on March 12.