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New Jets coach Aaron Glenn was asked about Aaron Rodgers’ future with the team, and said:
“This thing is not about Aaron Rodgers, folks – this is about the roster,” Glenn said. “We plan on building the best roster that we can. So, whatever that may be — guard, tackle, defensive tackle — that’s what we’re evaluating.”
Well, it kind of is about Rodgers.
In the NFL, it’s always about the quarterback.
If you don’t have one, you are dead in the water.
It’s cliche at this point, but it’s a quarterback-driven league.
So not sure I get Glenn’s position on Rodgers.
It’s clear what he was trying to do with that quote – tell people that no player is bigger than the rest.
Unfortunately, in the NFL, that is not the case.
There is a reason KC and Buffalo were in the AFC Championship game, and both teams have been at the top of the AFC the last half-dozen years, and that is the quarterbacks – the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Bills’ Josh Allen.
So while I respect Glenn, who is a good man and a great leader, I’m not sure this approach with Rodgers is ideal.
First of all, anybody who interviewed with Woody Johnson for the GM or head coaching jobs – Rodgers was a big topic. And when you come in for an interview with a team, in a QB-driven league, you’d have to think the candidates did a lot of research on the QB situation and already have a strong opinion on Rodgers.
What is there to study? He threw four touchdowns in the Jets season finale against Miami, and finished with 28 on the season, the same as Allen.
If Glenn moves on from Rodgers, who is he turning to?
Replacing Rodgers is not like replacing a guard, tackle or defensive tackle?
It’s just not.
Who are you going to get?
The college class isn’t great, and neither is the free agent class. As we sit here today, at the top of the NFL free agent class are guys like Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Jameis Winston.
Maybe he’s considering Tyrod Taylor, who is under contract to the Jets. This isn’t meant as a shot at Taylor, who is a pro’s pro, but his ceiling is likely a .500 season, as his lifetime record points out – 28-28-1.
Watching Rodgers last year, it was the best quarterbacking I’ve seen with the Jets in a long time. He wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn good, considering the circumstances, including offensive line issues and a substandard, undisciplined defense.
So if Glenn wants to run off Rodgers because he wants to establish his program and feels the QB doesn’t fit his program, go for it.
But who are you gonna get?
“We’re still in the evaluation mode, so for anybody else who’s going to ask that, I’m going to give you the same answer,” Glenn said. “So don’t waste your time. We clear?”
What more do you need to evaluate about Rodgers?
My position if I were the coach would be, “We’d love to him back, but he’s still trying to figure out his future, so it’s too early to determine if he will be with us this year.”
Darren Mougey’s position was a little more measured – “I know Aaron has his process in the offseason that he goes through. We have ours. But, yeah, that [decision] is going to come.”
If the Jets release Rodgers, so Glenn can establish his own program without a larger-than-life QB perhaps getting in the way, they will take a big cap hit.
Perhaps one of the reasons Woody picked Mougey as his GM was how well his former employer, the Denver Broncos, where he was the assistant GM, handled their roster this past year after taking a massive cap hit due to releasing Russell Wilson. They made the playoffs this year, with a $53 million in dead cap thanks to Wilson’s contract, 20 percent of their cap.
Glenn was asked what would go into the Rodgers decision.
“When it comes to the team, it’s always a football decision,” said Glenn.
Then clearly Rodgers should come back. Who are you going to get that is better next year at by far the most important position in the sport?
He’s more important than guards, tackles and defensive tackles.
QB-driven league.
January 28, 2025
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