INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday, Jets brass spoke for the first time since it was announced they would be moving on from Aaron Rodgers.
Before a single question was asked, Jets general manager Darren Mougey said the team did not give Rodgers any ultimatums in order to stay on the team.
“I’m not here to confirm or deny any rumors that happened during that process,” Mougey said at the NFL scouting combine. “I will say this, there was never an ultimatum or rules of engagement for Aaron to potentially join the Jets again, that never happened.
“AG [Jets coach Aaron Glenn] and I had a lot of dialogue, a lot of conversations, a lot of good thoughts, and I just felt that, at the end of the day, it was the best thing for the Jets moving forward, just going in a different direction at the quarterback position.
“A lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers as a player and person, first ballot Hall of Famer, wish him nothing but the best. But that was a decision we made and look forward to kind of moving past that and into this next process here with free agency and the draft.”
Earlier this month, The Athletic reported that if Rodgers were to return to the team in 2025 things would have to look a lot different around Florham Park. Among those concessions were Rodgers having to report to every single offseason program, and he would have to give up his weekly segment on “The Pat McAfee Show” throughout the season.
After returning from a season-ending Achilles tear, Rodgers had an uneven campaign last season. He passed for a respectable 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. But he was also 25th in QBR (48) and 20th in quarterback rating (90.5) after leading the Jets to a disappointing 5-12 finish.
After Mougey and Glenn officially became the Jets’ general manager and coach, they said they would speak to Rodgers before deciding about his future. Weeks later, Rodgers flew from California to New Jersey to meet with the new leadership team after each was noncommittal about his status during the introductory press conference in late January.
Then, on Feb. 9, Fox Sports reported that Rodgers had been informed that the team was moving in a different direction. Gang Green made that move official on Feb. 13, wishing Rodgers well.
Now, the Jets will look for their next franchise quarterback.
“We’re going to exhaust all options,” Mougey said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of intriguing prospects here this week at the combine. We’ll dive into that some in free agency and we’ll keep all options open at quarterback and really every position on the team.”
This year’s free-agent quarterback options are limited. Justin Fields, Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston are among the quarterbacks who will be available when the new league year begins on March 12. The Jets could also start Tyrod Taylor, who is under contract with the team. He was Rodgers’ backup a season ago.
Taylor has started 58 games in his career, with most of those coming when he was with the Bills from 2015-17. However, he has not played in more than 15 games since 2017. Also, Taylor has been injury-prone throughout his career, including when he suffered a rib injury in 2023 with the Giants.
However, Taylor could potentially be a placeholder until the Jets find a long-term replacement at quarterback. However, they are not ready to announce that Taylor will be the team’s starting quarterback once the new season begins in September.
“We can’t say that,” Glenn said. “We haven’t had free agency, we haven’t had the draft.
“Listen, Tyrod is a good player, we know that. I think he has won almost 50% of his games. He’s a guy that’s been in this league for a long time. It’s hard to because the draft and free agency hasn’t come yet.”
The Jets could potentially draft a quarterback while keeping Taylor and/or adding a veteran to the roster. They hold the seventh overall pick, which would put them in prime position to draft a quarterback in most drafts.
However, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders are the only two quarterbacks that are locks to be selected in Round 1 and are expected to be off the board by the team they select. That has led many in various NFL circles to believe the Jets could move up to draft Ward or Sanders.
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart could also be an option after turning heads during last month’s Senior Bowl in Mobile.
“I think at seven right now, we’re going to be open to potentially moving up for a player or moving back,” Mougey said. “All those options are on the table right now.”