The ironic twist behind the Davante Adams trade that makes it easier for the Jets to cut Aaron Rodgers in 2025
It's safe to say the New York Jets season is over. At 3-8, with interims at both the head coaching and general manager positions, it would take a miracle unlike anything the NFL has ever seen for even a shot at a playoff berth.It's time to start looking ahead and figuring out how the Jets […]
It's safe to say the New York Jets season is over. At 3-8, with interims at both the head coaching and general manager positions, it would take a miracle unlike anything the NFL has ever seen for even a shot at a playoff berth.
It's time to start looking ahead and figuring out how the Jets could possibly turn things around in 2025 and honestly, it's probably going to take a couple of years for this team to get back to competitive expectations. I mean, it's New York, so there will always be competitive expectations, but in this sense, we're talking realistic ones.
There's already speculation about whether or not Aaron Rodgers returns in 2025 and it makes a lot of sense for the two parties to say they tried their best to make it work and head in different directions. Especially after Jets owner Woody Johnson reportedly wanted to bench Rodgers four games into the season. The only issue with that is New York will lose $25,500,000 million in cap space if Rodgers is released without a post-June 1 designation next offseason.
That's not ideal, especially when considering the Jets currently have $32,844,610 in 2025 cap room, per Over The Cap. Doing the math, New York would have just $7,344,610 after Rodgers' hypothetical release, barring other moves and cap increases.
The Jets could designate Rodgers as a post-June 1 cut and save $9.350 million in 2025, but he'd count $35 million toward the 2026 cap and the Jets would have to carry his roster hit until June 2. Meaning, the $9.350 million in savings wouldn't be "unlocked" until then. At that point, the money can be used to help sign the draft class, but it can't be directly used during free agency, when it matters most.
There's also one big factor that plays into what happens next: Rodgers is set to earn a $35 million bonus due at the start of the league year, which is March 12.
So, the options are: cut Rodgers and lose nearly $26 million, post-June 1 him and bite the bullet in 2026, or keep him and pay him $35 million, at once, in March.
None of those options are ideal on their own. But fortunately, the Jets already have major help in the form of Davante Adams' 2025 cap situation. If Adams is outright released, it would create $29,977,999 in cap room. His gigantic base salaries are what make this possible, as that money is paid out during the season and isn't guaranteed.
Therefore releasing both Rodgers and Adams would actually add $4,477,999 in cap space, next year. How's that for irony? The team brought Adams in to help Rodgers and revive the 2024 season, but his biggest contribution to the team will likely be the fact he makes it easier for Johnson to release Rodgers. It's kinda wild to think that if the Jets don't trade for Adams, they wouldn't be in the position to make this happen.
And that's what needs to happen. Both guys need to be gone after this year. The Jets tried to go all-in and win a Super Bowl and it just didn't work. With a new GM and head coach coming in, there's no point in continuing to rob the franchise's future in an effort to prop up the ineffective present. It's much better to just admit defeat and start over than attempting to fix something that just isn't there.
But, as with everything regarding the Jets franchise, we'll just have to wait and see.
