Antwan Staley: Jets releasing Aaron Rodgers is the right decision

Jets fans getting acceptable for Super Bowl LIX connected Sunday received stunning, bittersweet quality or, depending connected their perspective, optimism astir the future.

Hours earlier the last crippled of the adjacent six months, ESPN, NFL Network, and different quality outlets reported that Aaron Rodgers is not expected to instrumentality arsenic the Jets’ quarterback successful 2025.

The 2 sides met past week successful New Jersey and the Jets delivered the quality to Rodgers, according to Fox Sports. However, the Jets person not confirmed the report.

After the quality dropped, galore Jet fans expressed their displeasure with the determination to determination connected from Rodgers. However, it is the close determination for the Jets, manager Aaron Glenn, and wide manager Darren Mougey.

Anyone who is amazed Rodgers, 41, is being released has not been paying attention. Since the Jets made changes astatine manager and wide manager, this trended successful that direction.

When considering the determination to bring backmost Rodgers, fans indispensable recognize it is much than conscionable a shot decision. Glenn and Mougey had to origin successful the wage headdress ramifications and the civilization hole with the four-time NFL MVP.

Rodgers’s declaration is worthy $37.5 million, which is not guaranteed. He was owed to number $23.5 cardinal connected the cap.

When the Jets officially merchandise Rodgers, they volition incur a $49 cardinal wage headdress hit. If they marque him a June 1 designation, this deed tin beryllium dispersed crossed the adjacent 2 seasons. If the Jets take to workout that option, Rodgers would number $14 cardinal against the headdress successful 2025 and $35 cardinal successful 2026.

Releasing Rodgers volition besides prevention the enactment $9.5 cardinal adjacent season.

Many Jets fans person mentioned that Rodgers told reporters successful December that helium would beryllium consenting to accept a wage cut. However, that would person inactive enactment the Jets successful an adjacent worse fiscal concern down the line.

Suppose Rodgers had been brought backmost connected a wage cut, that person pushed much wealth to the backmost extremity of his contract. Also, a subordinate similar Rodgers would apt beryllium insulted by taking a afloat wage chopped aft taking a $34 cardinal 1 up of the 2023 season.

The Jets could person kept Rodgers connected his existent deal, but that wasn’t perfect either. They would’ve had to wage him his $35 cardinal enactment bonus and a $2.5 cardinal basal wage by Week 1 of the 2025 season.

However, Rodgers’ dormant headdress complaint for the 2026 play would person accrued to $63 million, further harming the Jets’ headdress concern successful the future. They were projected to person astir $20 cardinal successful headdress abstraction this offseason. Now that the Jets are expected to merchandise Rodgers, they volition person astir $30 cardinal and adjacent much if they besides merchandise Davante Adams.

Releasing Adams, which is besides expected, would prevention the Jets $29.9 cardinal successful headdress space, according to Over the Cap. That would besides offset the nonaccomplishment of $25.5 cardinal of the nonaccomplishment of headdress abstraction from releasing Rodgers with the June 1 designation.

What other apt led to the determination to merchandise Rodgers is his baggage. He does The Pat McAfee Show each week during the play on with his Netflix docuseries ‘Enigma,’ In summation to that, past season, aft the Jets’ adjacent nonaccomplishment to the Bills connected Monday Night Football past season, Rodgers publically criticized then-teammate Mike Williams for moving the incorrect route, starring to a game-sealing fourth-quarter interception.

Rogers besides sparked contention with his stance connected vaccines and playing hooky from mandatory minicamp past June aft taking a abrogation to Egypt.

Do Glenn and the coaching unit privation to woody with that portion trying to found a civilization wrong the organization? Probably not, particularly aft his comments during past month’s introductory property conference.

“This happening is not astir Aaron Rodgers folks, it’s astir the roster,” Glenn said. “And we program connected gathering the champion roster that we can, immoderate that whitethorn be. Guard, tackle, antiaircraft tackle, that’s what we are evaluating.

“Everybody is nether a microscope, that’s conscionable what it is. So we are going to bash the champion we tin to marque definite we physique the champion roster.”

In summation to the wage headdress and culture, radical indispensable measure wherever Rodgers is football-wise astatine this juncture of his career. Many Jets fans volition archer you Rodgers had 1 of the champion seasons of immoderate backmost successful franchise past aft passing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions successful 17 games.

However, Rodgers inactive finished with a 48.1 Total QBR, ranked 25th retired of 32 qualified NFL passers. He besides engineered an discourtesy that finished 5-12, 24th wide successful yards (310.3), and 25th wide successful points per crippled (19.9).

Rodgers’ uneven play aboriginal successful the play led to Robert Saleh’s firing 5 games into the season, Nathaniel Hackett’s demotion, and Joe Douglas’s firing arsenic wide manager. He besides struggled to find chemistry with ascending stars Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.

Many Rodgers fans volition advocator for him by saying helium was lone a twelvemonth removed from tearing his Achilles 4 plays into the 2023 season. However, players his property typically don’t get better, they get worse, particularly erstwhile facing players adjacent to fractional his age.

Several Jets fans are unhappy with the team’s determination to merchandise Rodgers, but you can’t responsibility the squad for going for it. When the Jets traded for Rodgers successful April 2023, the extremity was to vie for a championship. That led to HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ coming to Florham Park and overmuch attraction being paid to the Jets.

The 2023 volition stay 1 of the biggest what-ifs successful Jets’ history. But insanity is doing the aforesaid happening repeatedly and expecting a antithetic result.

After 2 seasons of the Rodgers era, the franchise needs to determination successful a caller direction. What that absorption is for the 2025 play and beyond, enactment tuned.