Former NFL offensive lineman Lomas Brown isn’t the only person who thinks new Jets coach Aaron Glenn has already decided to keep quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
ESPN radio host and New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay has apparently heard the same thing, too.
“And there is word out there, there’s been leaks I’ve heard that whatever they pay Aaron Glenn, he’s made it known that he would like to keep Aaron Rodgers,” Kay said on his radio show Tuesday, a day before the Glenn hiring became official.
Kay’s report tracks with Brown, who spent the past four years as the commentator on Lions’ broadcast watching Glenn closely during his time as defensive coordinator.
“I do believe that if Aaron [Glenn] comes there, Aaron [Rodgers] is gonna be [his] quarterback, ” Brown said Tuesday on ESPN New York’s “Bart & Carlin.
Others around the NFL have assumed that the Jets would start anew at quarterback. While the Jets’ 5-12 record had to do more than just with 41-year-old Rodgers, he certainly played a major part in a losing campaign that featured firing coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. He completed 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions — a significant drop-off from his peak/MVP seasons.
Rodgers has a cap hit of $23.5 million. If the Jets cut Rodgers before June 1, they’d be hit with a $49 million dead cap charge and lose $25.5 million in cap space, per Over the Cap. If they cut him after June 1, they’d be able to spread the cap charge for the next two season — $14 million in 2025 and $35 million in 2026, but they’d save $9.5 million in cap space, per The Athletic.
Kay thinks bringing back Rodgers is the “way to move forward,” and that it will help Rodgers to actually be coached in 2025, unlike for most of 2024. (Has he watched Rodgers in New York?)
“He’s going to hire at least a smart offensive mind — then (Rodgers is) going to be coached,“ Kay said. Maybe when Aaron Glenn sits him down and says, ‘We’re going to do it my way. You’re not running the show.‘
“Maybe Aaron Rodgers says, ‘You know what? I want out,’” Kay said. “Maybe Aaron Rodgers wants to pull all the levers. Who knows?”
For now, the Jets need to hire a general manager — Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark is the favorite — to help Glenn and owner Woody Johnson make that decision.
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