Aaron Rodgers has had a predictably rocky tenure in New York. What else did you expect when a guy as polarizing as him landed in the City That Never Sleeps?
Advertisement
While the non-football weirdness was expected, Rodgers was supposed to deliver wins to the New York Jets. Four out of 15 games won’t cut it. There’s now a lot of talk about the team and player parting ways this offseason. The player addressed that once again this week, but while doing so, he took an unexpected shot at owner Woody Johnson.
Rodgers spoke Monday about the possibility of being released by the Jets after they wrap up this bummer of a season, even by Jets standards. He not only discussed the fact that he may be released for the first time in his career, but also that it might be owner Woody Johnson’s son, Brick, doing the releasing.
“I’ve never been released before. Being released would be a first. Being released by a teenager would also be a first… I find the comedy in all of it. If that happens, phenomenal. It’s a great story,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show.
Once again, Rodgers mentions (unsolicited) the possibility of being released the day after the season ends. He threw that out last week, too. Interesting.
Funny quote from Rodgers: "I've never been released before. Being released would be a first. Being released by a teenager…
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 23, 2024
According to Jets insider Rich Cimini, Rodgers brought up the possibility of being released unprompted. And he’s done so multiple times in recent weeks, according to Cimini. Rodgers also specifically mentioned the day after the season ends as a possibility for when he’ll be handed his walking papers.
The Rodgers experiment has been rough. But, some point to the fact that the 41-year-old has been having, statistically speaking, one of the best QB seasons by a Jets QB in some time.
His 62.8 completion percentage is the Jets’ best since 2017. He’s on pace to put up the 2nd-most passing yards ever by a Jets QB (Joe Namath). He’s also on pace for the 3rd-most TDs in a season (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Vinny Testaverde), and he’s tied a Jets record for the lowest INT rate (1.5). Even his 90.8 passer rating, which is a career low for Rodgers, would be 6th all-time for the Jets.
However, while his raw numbers look pretty solid when compared to a pretty sorry history of Jets QBs, that hasn’t resulted in wins. They’re tied for the 7th-fewest wins in the NFL this season. Rodgers’ inability to make the right play in close games—New York is 3-7 in one-score games—has cost them.
If recent reports turn out to be true, there is surely something else has that probably cost them even more over the last few years: Woody Johnson’s 17-year-old son, Brick. According to Diana Russini, who has not always been the most reliable insider but has also broken some massive Jets stories, Brick has had a significant influence on his father and the front office.
He’s jokingly known around the league as New York’s “de facto GM”, according to other reports. Whistle Sports created a video on social media to break down the situation. It’s beyond worrying, even if only partially true.
Woody Johnson's 17-year-old son is the Jets GM? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/m4AG3fGnPY
— Whistle (@WhistleSports) December 8, 2024
When he was just 14 in 2021, Brick was in the war room to call Zach Wilson when the Jets drafted him. The story Russini and others wrote for The Athletic contained lots of other examples of Brick’s emerging influence.
The most jarring was an awkward post-game interaction following the team’s first win since Robert Saleh’s firing back on Halloween. Aaron Rodgers was about to hand interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich the game ball in an “energized” locker room, which is customary following a coach’s first career win. But then, Brick stepped in and authored what one player called “the most awkward, cringe-worthy, brutal experience.”
“But before Rodgers could speak, Brick Johnson took another game ball and awarded it to wide receiver Garrett Wilson in a profanity-laced exclamation, which the owner’s son later posted to Instagram. Woody Johnson then gave Ulbrich the ball Rodgers had been holding. Multiple players said the energy felt drained out of the room.”
This is just the latest and strangest of a litany of weird stories about Woody Johnson. There were also recent reports that wideout Jerry Jeudy’s Madden rating played a factor in Johnson nixing a trade for the wideout. Jeudy has enjoyed a breakout year with the Cleveland Browns in 2024, currently sitting 7th in receiving yards.
Even if Aaron Rodgers is released, the Jets will still have Woody Johnson (and his sons). So how much better can they really be in 2025?
