Aaron Rodgers Rumors: QB 'Pleaded' With Jets to Stay Before Team Decided to Part Ways

Before the New York Jets announced this week that they are moving on from veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers after two seasons with the team, Rodgers reportedly tried to make his case for why the Jets should keep him.

According to Ryan Dunleavy and Steve Helling of the New York Post, Rodgers "pleaded" with the Jets to give him one or two more years as the starter during his final conversations with team officials.

A source told Dunleavy and Helling that Rodgers "aggressively urged" the Jets to keep him, but once the decision was made to part ways, Rodgers accepted it.

The Jets acquired Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers prior to the 2023 season, eliciting excitement from a fanbase that had not enjoyed playoff football since 2010.

A four-time NFL MVP, one-time Super Bowl champion and one-time Super Bowl MVP, Rodgers was supposed to reverse the Jets' fortunes, but disaster struck in his first start as a member of the team.

Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles during his first drive of the 2023 regular season, causing him to miss the remainder of the year.

While Rodgers returned in time for the start of the 2024 season and went on to start all 17 games, the Jets went a highly disappointing 5-12 and missed the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season.

Both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were fired during the season, and they were recently replaced by new head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.

The quarterback decision was ultimately up to Glenn and Mougey, and while it may have seemed like an easy call on the surface, there were reasons for them to at least consider keeping Rodgers.

Despite being 41 and coming off a torn Achilles, he put up respectable numbers, completing 63.0 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Additionally, the Jets may not be able to realistically upgrade on Rodgers this offseason given who is set to be available.

Sam Darnold is set to be the top free-agent quarterback, but he almost certainly won't return to New York after struggling mightily as the Jets' starting quarterback to start his career.

The Jets also have the No. 7 overall pick in the draft, but there is seemingly a good chance that Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders will be off the board by the time they pick, and they are the only surefire, first-round quarterbacks as of now.

Rodgers is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer with nothing left to prove, but now he has to decide on his next move.

He could either ride off into the sunset and retire, or he could try to land elsewhere in hopes of ending his legendary career on a much higher note.