Aaron Rodgers’ tumultuous two years with the New York Jets concluded with a bizarre meeting earlier this year when he was informed he would no longer be with Gang Green.
In an interview with “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, Rodgers detailed his odd interaction with new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
“That was an interesting two years to say the least. I figured that when I flew across country on my own dime that there was going to be a conversation. The confusing thing to me, and the strange thing, was when I went out there I meet with the coach, we start talking, he runs out of the room. I’m like, ‘That’s kind of strange.’
“Then he comes back with the GM [Darren Mougey]. So we sit down in the office, and I think we’re going to have this long conversation. I’ve flown across country and 20 seconds in he goes — I mean literally I’m talking to the GM about something — and he leans to the edge of his seat, and he goes, ‘So, you want to play football?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ He says, ‘We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.’ And I was kind of shocked, now not shocked because I didn’t think that was a possibility, if they want to move on that’s totally fine. But shocked because I just flew across country, you could’ve told me this on the phone.”
"I figured when I flew across country to meet with the Jets there was gonna be a conversation..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 17, 2025
We sat down in the office & 20 seconds in the coach said we're going in a different direction..
That's totally fine but they could have just told me that on the phone" ~… pic.twitter.com/By7QvLK7tM
Rodgers explained Glenn wanted to discuss how the news of the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s departure should be communicated.
“I said verbatim, ‘I don’t give a s*** about the message,'” Rodgers stated. “And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘I don’t want to be up in front of the room saying something and have guys looking back at you.’
“And I said, ‘What does that even mean? Are you assuming I would be in the back of the room during a team meeting undermining what you’re saying?’ I said, ‘You don’t know me.’ And he said, ‘You don’t know me.’ And then I said, ‘Exactly, which is why I flew across the country to have a face-to-face meeting with you to talk about my experience with the Jets and to hear your vision for the team.'”
Rodgers added: “What I thought was going to be a couple hour meeting turned into like a 15-minute meeting and I walked out of there. That was a strange meeting for sure. There was no me pleading, ‘Please have me on the team.’ I don’t want any part of that. It was already a debacle in some cases.”
Despite the awkward encounter, Rodgers claimed he wasn’t upset about the outcome.
“I shouldn’t have been surprised based on some of the things I saw over the two years, but I am thankful for my time with the Jets. I’m disappointed it didn’t work out better on the field.”
Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the regular season in 2023, causing him to miss the remainder of the year. He returned in 2024 but led the Jets to a 5-12 record that resulted in head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas being fired midseason.
The 41-year-old Rodgers, who threw for nearly 3,900 yards and 28 touchdowns last year, continues to contemplate his NFL future.
