With Tuesday being Christmas Eve, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made his weekly visit with Pat McAfee and company a day earlier than usual. And Rodgers made, unprompted, a comment about his future with the Jets.
Via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Rodgers brought up the possibility of being released by the Jets at the end of the season.
“Being released would be a first; being released by a teenager, that would also be a first,” Rodgers said. “So, hey, I’m open to everything and I find the comedy in all of it. If that happens, hey, it’s a great story.”
Rodgers was referring to last week’s report that owner Woody Johnson’s teenage sons, Brick and Jack, have influence over personnel moves.
The Jets couldn’t make the move until the week after the Super Bowl. By then, they’ll presumably have a new G.M. and a new head coach in place.
Rodgers repeatedly has said the Jets are his first choice for 2025. He also has made it clear he will make his decision on whether to play next year once the Jets decide that they want him.
It’s a deft way of forcing the Jets to make the first move. If they want him, he can still change his mind, blaming it on his eventual beliefs regarding the fit, or lack thereof, with the new regime. If they don’t want him, he can paint himself as the victim — and he can use that as extra motivation to find a new home for 2025.
He has been playing well enough lately to potentially attract the interest of another team. And he’s needling the Jets just enough to create the impression that he hopes they won’t want him. If the Jets get the message and act accordingly, he can then use 2025 to, among other things, prove them wrong.
Along the way, he can dust off (if need be) some of his greatest hits, like claiming that he doesn’t have cell service or whatever when the Jets try to contact him to find out whether he truly wants to play for them again.
