Could New York Jets cut Aaron Rodgers next offseason after Saleh firing?

The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday morning. Is their next major decision releasing Aaron Rodgers? You just have to think that the Jets firing Robert Saleh is them slowly but surely moving on from this era of Jets' football.

Aaron Rodgers clearly has his hands all over this move, as anyone who has seen the Jets play football understand that Saleh was far from the main issue. The odd roster moves made by General Manager Joe Douglas and the coaching ineptitude of Nathaniel Hackett were much bigger reasons for their lack of success this year.

The Jets did get out to a fine 2-1 start, but have since lost their last two games against a rookie QB in Bo Nix and an unexpected Week 1 starter in Sam Darnold. The Jets now sit at 2-3 on the season, but it's not their defense that's the issue.

Saleh is a defensive-minded coach and had that unit again playing well. Nathaniel Hackett has somehow kept his job before Robert Saleh, but no matter how you slice it, it appears as if more change could be on the horizon. Could the Jets' next big move actually be to release Aaron Rodgers next offseason?

It's hard to envision GM Joe Douglas keeping his job beyond this year, so a new GM that comes in may want to make the bold move to cut Rodgers, who is clearly in a decline. Yes, Hackett and his offensive scheme is an issue, but Rodgers has not exactly played well himself. According to Over the Cap, the Jets would eat $14 million in dead money and save $9.5 million on their 2025 cap number by cutting Rodgers.

OTC also notes that Rodgers has no more guaranteed money left on his deal beyond 2024. Unless I am misinterpreting something here, the Jets can indeed move on from his contract quite easily in 2025. The New York Jets may just need to acknowledge defeat with the Aaron Rodgers trade and start fresh with a new head coach and General Manager pairing.

This may be the right way to rebuild the Jets. The move to trade for Aaron Rodgers really only happened because Joe Douglas whiffed on Zach Wilson in the 2021 NFL Draft, so a hypothetical new GM would probably be doing the right thing in starting fresh at the most important position in professional sports.