Aaron Rodgers’ arrival in New York to join the Jets in 2023 was supposed to lead to a short but successful era in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, it went about as badly as you could imagine. Rodgers tore his Achilles in the first quarter of his first game in 2023, and the team went 5-12 in 2024 when he was healthy.
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So it was no surprise that, after the season wrapped up, the general view was that Rodgers and the Jets would part ways. Head coach Robert Saleh had been fired midseason, and newly hired head coach Aaron Glenn met with Rodgers about his future. Apparently, that meeting didn’t go very well, and both left with a bitter taste in their mouths.
It seems that the bitter taste has not receded for Glenn just yet. While speaking about his new QB, Justin Fields, and praising the youngster’s down-to-earth style, he seemed to take a shot at Rodgers and his “celebrity quarterback” status.
“He’s not trying to be the celebrity quarterback; he’s just trying to be himself. And whatever comes with that, it comes with it. So, he’s not trying to impress anybody. He’s going out there and he’s busting his (expletive) trying to be the best quarterback he can be for this team. Everybody sees that — and I like that.”
He didn’t explicitly mention Rodgers, but it doesn’t take a genius to understand the implication there. James Jones, now a pundit for FS1 but formerly a Green Bay Packers receiver who was teammates with Rodgers for eight years, including during their Super Bowl season in 2010, did not like Glenn’s subtle shot at his old buddy.
“This is foul, and it’s a shot. And the main reason … is because you just had a four-time MVP celebrity superstar quarterback. Whether he played well or not, that’s what you had in the building. He is not there, so it’s a shot. … Aaron ain’t in the building no more, man, you should just be worried about your young quarterback developing, and playing well. “
Aaron Glenn’s comments on Justin Field: “He’s not trying to be the celebrity QB.”
“This is foul and it’s a shot at Aaron Rodgers. You just had a 4x MVP celebrity QB in the building.” — @89JonesNTAF pic.twitter.com/bdIlxWvdDN
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 26, 2025
The Jets put “all their eggs in the Justin Fields basket,” as Jones said. There is a lot of pressure on both Glenn and Fields to make sure this works. Because if it doesn’t, and Rodgers has a rejuvenated season in Pittsburgh, it would be a very bad look for the Jets. A classic Jets snafu.
“Because to be honest with you, you have put all your eggs in the Justin Fields basket. And if he does not have success, we are pointing right at you, and looking right at you. And if Aaron Rodgers has success, the celebrity quarterback that you disrespected and let walk out of there, you are going to have to answer some questions.”
It will be very interesting to track the progress of both Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers in 2025. They essentially just swapped jobs, with Fields going from Pittsburgh to New York, and Rodgers going the other way. We will have to wait for the 2025 postseason to see which side came out on top in this exchange.
