NFL agent blasts Jets, Aaron Rodgers for 'terrible' situation

The New York Jets allegedly giving quarterback Aaron Rodgers too much "power" regarding certain decisions has been a hotly debated topic among media members and fans over the past year and a half. 

At least one anonymous NFL agent believes the Jets' handling of Rodgers could result in team owner Woody Johnson firing both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas this January. 

"There is complete disarray over there," the agent said about the Jets during a recent chat with The Athletic's Ben Standig. "Look at how they’ve handled Aaron Rodgers. Has one player had more power than him? He skipped minicamp. They have been unable to convert him into a team player. The vibe inside the building is terrible." 

Rodgers reportedly "supplied the Jets with a wish list of free agents" before the Green Bay Packers officially traded him to New York in April 2023. The future Hall of Famer then suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into his regular-season debut with the Jets. Rodgers was later accused of abandoning young backup Zach Wilson after Wilson "was under the impression he’d have a direct line to" the 40-year-old. 

As for "the vibe inside the building," Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported this past January about "flaws within the coaching staff, offensive personnel and the [Jets'] culture" that were "exposed" after Rodgers went down with his season-ending injury. The Jets reportedly "made legitimate attempts this offseason to hire someone who would, essentially, replace" offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett but ultimately kept Hackett in that role, presumably because Rodgers strongly backs him. 

Rodgers, along with other Jets players and Saleh, insisted throughout the summer that the one-time Super Bowl champion skipping the club's two-day mandatory minicamp in June because of a pre-planned trip to Egypt won't negatively impact how the team performs when the games begin to matter next month. That's all well and good, but the story served as yet another example of Rodgers being "one big giant distraction" during his Jets tenure. 

As of early Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Jets as the betting favorites at +165 odds to win the AFC East division title this season. Rodgers could silence his critics by helping the club end what's now the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues, but he first needs to show he can stay healthy for more than a handful of games beginning with the Week 1 matchup at the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 9.