By ESPN | Created at 2025-03-12 22:18:13 | Updated at 2025-03-13 04:15:16
5 hours ago
Rich CiminiMar 12, 2025, 05:36 PM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- For the first time in a career that will likely land him in the Hall of Fame, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a free agent.
It became official at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the start of the league year, when Rodgers was released by the New York Jets in a long-anticipated move. The Jets do not plan to announce the procedural move, according to a source, but it's expected to appear on the NFL's evening transaction wire. The team basically declared its intentions last month.
Rodgers is now permitted to sign with any team, with the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers showing the most interest in the four-time MVP.
Both teams are quarterback needy. Both the Steelers and Giants have only one quarterback under contract -- Skylar Thompson and Tommy DeVito, respectively. Rodgers has been in talks with both teams. The Minnesota Vikings also can't be ruled out as an outside possibility.
While the Steelers and Giants wait on Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh's starting quarterback last season, is scheduled to fly Wednesday night to visit with the Cleveland Browns, before being scheduled to travel to New York on Thursday to visit with the Giants on Friday, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Rodgers' release from the Jets was a mere formality. On Feb. 13, the team announced its intention to release Rodgers, which allowed him to start speaking with other teams. Rodgers, 41, hasn't publicly commented since the Jets made their decision to move on after two seasons.
By carrying him on the roster until the start of the league year, the Jets can now designate him a post-June 1 cut, which allows them to spread his $49 million cap hit over two seasons -- $14 million this year, $35 million in 2026.
For now, they must carry his full cap charge ($23.5 million) until June 1. After that, it drops to $14 million, providing $9.5 million in cap relief.
They could've waited with the hope of trading him for a draft pick, but that would've been difficult because teams have known the Jets' plans for several weeks. A trade would've resulted in the full cap hit ($49 million) this season.
The Jets' new regime -- general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn -- wasted little time in making its quarterback decision. The Jets informed him Feb. 6 in a face-to-face meeting. Then, on the first day of free agent negotiating, they agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with Justin Fields, the Steelers' backup for the final 11 games last season. (He started the first six, going 4-2.)
Two years ago this week -- March 15, 2023 -- Rodgers declared his intentions to play for the Jets on "The Pat McAfee Show," starting a month of trade negotiations between the Jets and Green Bay Packers.
The trade for Rodgers will be remembered as one of the most disappointing moves in franchise history. His first season ended quickly, as he tore his left Achilles on the fourth snap of his first game in New York. He started every game in 2024, but the Jets, who began the year with Super Bowl aspirations, finished 5-12.
Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns, both third on the Jets' single-season list, but it was an uneven performance. He finished 25th in Total QBR, 30th in completion percentage and 28th in yards per attempt among qualified passers. The Jets were 3-7 in one-score games, with Rodgers failing in a few of them to pull out wins on his final possession.
