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It sounds like Aaron Rodgers’ last meeting with the Jets was a lot like his first game with the team — short and painful.
Rodgers ripped new Jets coach Aaron Glenn during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. It was the first time Rodgers has spoken since the Jets made the decision in February to release the quarterback.
Rodgers, 41, flew from his California home to New Jersey in early February for what he thought would be an extended meeting with Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey. Instead, the meeting lasted just 15 minutes, and Glenn did not show “ample respect,” according to Rodgers.
Rodgers said he and Glenn began speaking, then Glenn went “running out of the room” to get Mougey.
“That was kind of strange,” Rodgers said. “I think we are going to have this long conversation. I’ve flown across the country, and 20 seconds in he goes and he leans to the edge of his seat and says, ‘So, you want to play football?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ And he was like, ‘We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.’
“I was kind of shocked. Not shocked because I didn’t think it was a possibility, but shocked because I just flew across the country and you could’ve told me this over the phone.”
Rodgers said the Jets were not interested in finding out whether he wanted to remain with the team or in his opinion on players he played with. Instead, they just wanted to know how he wanted to handle “the messaging” around his release.
“I don’t give a s–-t about the messaging. Why?” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said Glenn intimated that he was worried the four-time MVP would “undermine” him. Rodgers said Glenn told him he did not want to be speaking to the team and have the players then looking at Rodgers in the back of the room.
“It was a very strange meeting, for sure,” Rodgers. “There was no me pleading, ‘Please have me on the team.’ I don’t want to be a part of that. It was already a debacle in some cases. That whole situation was crazy. That was a little rogue by the head coach.”
Rodgers said he spent another 25 minutes at the team headquarters speaking to the training staff and equipment room staffers. He praised vice chairman Christopher Johnson but noticeably said nothing about Woody Johnson, Christopher’s brother and the chairman of the team.
“There’s obviously things that need to get fixed over there,” Rodgers said.
This caps the strange and disappointing two-year tenure of Rodgers with the Jets that really began with another appearance on “McAfee” when he said he wanted the Packers to trade him to the Jets. The trade became a reality in April 2023 with much fanfare. Rodgers’ first season ended after four plays when he tore his left Achilles tendon in the season opener against the Bills. He returned in 2024 but could only get the Jets to a 5-12 record.
The team announced it was releasing Rodgers in February and made the move official in March when the league year began. Justin Fields was signed to a two-year, $40 million contract to replace Rodgers at quarterback.
Rodgers is a free agent for the first time in his career, and the NFL has been waiting for his decision. He acknowledged speaking to the Giants, Steelers and Vikings, but would not give a full list of teams he has spoken to. The Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and the Vikings have said they want to give J.J. McCarthy a chance to start, leaving the Steelers as his likely destination.
Rodgers called Giants coach Brian Daboll a “beautiful football mind.”
The 41-year-old said his focus right now is on his personal life, where two people close to him are dealing with serious situations. Rodgers said he is still open to retirement and does not feel like he has a deadline to sign with a team.
“I am trying to be open to everything and not specifically attached to anything when it comes to this decision,” he said. “I’m not holding anybody hostage.”
