Jets Player Says He 'Respected' Aaron Glenn for Cutting Ties with Aaron Rodgers

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn raised some eyebrows when one of his first moves after being hired was to release star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but his players didn't have that reaction.

"I respected it," one Jets player told ESPN's Rich Cimini of Glenn's decision to part ways with Rodgers. "It was like cutting off the head of the snake right away and setting the tone, saying, 'Hey, I'm going to do it my way.'"

Rodgers was the face of the Jets for the last two seasons after being acquired from the Green Bay Packers. His brief tenure was mired by misfortune, as he tore his Achilles four plays into the 2023 season and played well below the standard of a four-time NFL MVP in his return in 2024. New York's abysmal 5-12 finish to last season led to the firings of head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas, opening the door for a new regime led by Glenn and first-year GM Darren Mougey.

After being released from the Jets, Rodgers criticized Glenn for his handling of their first meeting when he informed the signal-caller that he was being let go.

"I felt like there wasn't an ample amount of respect in that meeting, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on some of the things I saw over the two years," Rodgers said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show in April.

Adding even more drama to the situation, Rodgers joined the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, and they will open the 2025 campaign against the Jets on Sunday. It can be expected that the 41-year-old will be motivated to prove that Glenn made the wrong decision to release him, but the first-year head coach isn't feeding into any outside storylines.

"It's not relevant right now. ... That's been gone, so I'm not going to answer questions about guys that aren't here and what I saw," Glenn said before practice Tuesday when asked about Rodgers' criticisms from earlier in the offseason. "Right now, I'm looking at what our guys can do."