Jets general manager Darren Mougey made it clear from the start of his press conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday that he and head coach Aaron Glenn are in lockstep with their decisions and the "goal of winning now and from now on." Moving on from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, to them, falls under that umbrella.
"I'm not going to discuss any private discussions that I had with Aaron [Rodgers] throughout this process," Mougey said. "I'm not here to confirm or deny any rumors that happened during that process. I will say this, there was never an ultimatum of rules of engagement for Aaron to potentially join the Jets again. That never happened. AG and I had a lot of dialog, a lot of conversations, a lot of thoughts and just felt it was the best thing for the Jets going in a different direction at the quarterback position.
"A lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers as a player and person, first ballot Hall of Famer. Wish him nothing but the best. But that was a decision we made and look forward to kind of moving past that and into this next process here with free agency and in the draft."
The Jets announced on Feb. 13 that they had decided to move on from Rodgers, who played in 18 games over two seasons and threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He's still under contract and once he's officially released, the remaining quarterbacks on the roster will be 35-year-old Tyrod Taylor, 25-year-old Adrian Martinez and 24-year-old Jordan Travis. Neither Martinez nor Travis, who spent the 2024 season on the non-football injury list, have taken a snap in the regular season.
Mougey's first opportunity to add to the room will be March 10 when the negotiating window begins before April's draft.
"We'll explore all those options," he said. "There's a lot of intriguing players in this draft, some good, talented players in the draft, at quarterback as well. Then in free agency, we'll exhaust all those options but really excited of who we have in the building right now. Starting with Tyrod, a guy that's been around the league, been in the league for a long time and has a great reputation. I've got the opportunity to talk to him a few times and it's been great. So I'm glad we have Tyrod in the building, but we'll exhaust all options."
Quarterbacks who are set to become free agents include Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Daniel Jones, and the Green & White could be in position to draft a top QB prospect with their first-round pick, No. 7 overall. Regardless of who the team adds, there's one common denominator Glenn wants under center.
"We're looking for winners," he said.
