Free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers had the NFL world captivated during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, during which the expectation was that he might announce his next career move.
But the vet was, perhaps unsurprisingly, extremely vague and noncommittal regarding his future, offering viewers little in the way of his planned next steps. But what he did detail—for the first time, mind you—was his final meeting with the New York Jets, which he said did not go well.
“Listen, that was an interesting two years to say the least," Rodgers began, referring to his New York tenure. "I figured that when I flew across country on my dime there would be a conversation. The confusing thing to me, and the strange thing, is I went out there, I meet with [head coach Aaron Glenn], we start talking … he runs out of the room. I’m like, that’s kind of strange. Then he comes back with the GM and I’m like all right. So we sit down in the office and I think we’re going to have this long conversation. I've flown across the country. And 20 seconds in, [Glenn] goes ...., 'You sure you wanna play football?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm interested,' and he said, 'We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.'
"And I was shocked. Not shocked because I didn't think that was a possiblity. ... But shocked because I just flew across the country. You could've told me this on the phone."
Rodgers said Glenn and the GM wanted to then talk to him about the messaging of the news—how he'd want it released—but he was unconcerned about that part. He also insinuated that Glenn suggested the QB would somehow undermine the news of his departure should he be in the room when it was announced to the team.
"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.' ... What I thought was going to be a couple hour meeting turned into a 15-minute meeting and I walked out of there."
Even so, the quarterback was not all doom and gloom about it.
"There's so many beautiful things about the two years that I had [in New York]. Obviously, most of them off the field. But I wasn't upset about it, I was surprised. I felt like there wasn't an ample amount of respect in that meeting. ... But I am thankful for my time with the Jets. I'm disappointed it didn't work out better."
"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
Otherwise, Rodgers did not commit to anything re: the 2025-26 season. Retirement is still a possibility. The Pittsburgh Steelers are still a possibility. And we must all continue to wait.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers Breaks Silence on Strange Final Meeting With Aaron Glenn, Jets.
