As a season of humiliation draws closer to an end for the New York Jets, one former coach of the team believes the squad’s most notable name has been trying to lay the groundwork for his departure.
After recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered just four snaps into his debut for the team, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has drastically failed to meet expectations for Gang Green as the Jets currently sit 4-11 and have been long eliminated from the playoffs.
While speculation around Rodgers’ future continues to swirl, one former coach of the team believes that he already has one foot out the door.
Eric Mangini – who led the Jets from 2006-2008 – thinks that Rodgers has been ‘doing everything he can to get cut’ by team owner Woody Johnson.
‘The fact that Aaron brought up the “I’ve never been cut by a teenager, I’ve never been released by a teenager,” that’s a direct shot at the owner,’ Mangini said on an appearance on “The Herd” – referring to comments Rodgers made on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’.
Mangini continued: ‘That’s legitimizing everything that’s been said in the organization. That’s making fun of how dysfunctional it is.
A former head coach of the Jets believes Aaron Rodgers is trying to get cut from the team
Eric Mangini (seen here with San Francisco) called Rodgers’ recent statements ‘direct shots’ at owner Woody Johnson and they ‘legitimize everything that’s been said in the organization’
Rodgers has been woeful this season as the Jets once again missed the mark on expectations
‘So to me, as soon as he said that, in my mind said he wants out. But he doesn’t want to retire, obviously. He wants to get paid and not have to deal with any of the givebacks that come with retirement.’
Mangini’s characterization of the Jets as ‘dysfunctional’ might actually be putting it lightly.
The team has already fired its head coach (Robert Saleh) and general manager (Joe Douglas) after the Jets bitterly disappointed their long-suffering fans.
In a season where the Jets were expected to fight for the AFC East title, New York has been woeful offensively – being one of only four teams who have not put up more than 30 points in one game this season.
Rodgers deserves a good portion of the blame. Despite the team swinging a trade for Davante Adams – the wide receiver Rodgers has the most history with in the NFL – Rodgers sits 13th in total passing yards league-wide.
His 62.8 completion percentage is 27th in the NFL and his average passing yards per game is only 15th. Rodgers has only passed for over 300 yards in a game once this season – a 32-26 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Rodgers has also taken 33 sacks – tied for the 12th most in the league with Deshaun Watson and rookie Drake Maye. The only positive statistic he has is his touchdown-interception rating (24-8) – which is top-ten in the league.
Only two games remain in the Jets season: Sunday afternoon’s trip to Orchard Park to take on the already-crowned division champion Buffalo Bills then next week’s final home game against the Miami Dolphins.
