Aaron Rodgers faces unknowns this offseason after his second year with the New York Jets.
The team has to hire both a head coach and general manager in the offseason, and Rodgers, 41, is watching. Things also didn’t go as planned this season when Rodgers returned from an Achilles injury, and the team went 5–12.
“I think everybody understands that it’s going to come down to a GM and a coach and myself and whether we all want to do a dance together or if it’s not in the cards,” Rodgers told ESPN’s Pat McAfee on Thursday.
The Jets fired head coach Robert Selah and general manager Joe Douglas during the season, and the interviews are only ramping up at this time as the candidate lists are growing. Interviews for the head coaching position include Jeff Hafley, Brian Flores, Bobby Slowik, and Arthur Smith. For general manager, the Jets have interviewed Thomas Dimitroff, Jon Robinson, Jim Nagy, Louis Riddick, Alec Halaby, and Mike Borgonzi, to name a few.
“There’s obviously moving pieces in New York. There’s more names being released every day that the team is looking at, but I’ve had limited communication with them,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers will have much to consider once the Jets make those hires. In one healthy full season with the Jets, Rodgers has 3,897 yards passing for 28 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions on a team that went from playoff aspirations to the seventh pick in the draft.
“As far as my own decision, I told them I’m going to take some time,” Rodgers said. “They haven’t even made a decision on the GM or a coach yet. Once that happens, then that'll take us to the next step which is a conversation, I’m assuming, with whoever that individual is.”
Rodgers talked about positives from his end-of-season meetings with Jets owner Woody Johnson, team president Hymie Elhai, and vice chairman Christopher Johnson. Rodgers has been working with all three since his arrival in 2023 in a trade with the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers has one season remaining on a three-year, $112.5 million deal with the Jets, who have $22.59 million in salary cap space amid a host of roster considerations after a five-win season.
That includes potential unrestricted free agents such as outside linebacker Haason Reddick and cornerback D.J. Reed, who have contracts that pay over $10 million per year. The Jets also have another 26 free agents to consider re-signing.
New York also has to consider wide receiver Davante Adams, Rodgers’s longtime teammate from Green Bay who joined the Jets via a trade in 2024. Adams’s 2025 salary was a hefty $35.64 million, with two more years remaining on his contract.
“I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine right now,” Adams told host Kay Adams during the “Up & Adams” show on Jan. 10. “We’re not closing the door, definitely not closing the door. You look at the team that we had, we were not far away.”
“Obviously you’re a horrible team when you just lose games, it’s not like we were getting blown out every week, we had chances, just didn’t finish,” he said. “There is some promise there, but there’s a lot of stuff that needs to get figured out before I can tell you ‘yes for sure.’”
Rodgers and Adams played eight seasons together in Green Bay before 11 games together with the Jets in 2024.
