Given the very public divorce between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets, the four-time MVP likely had Sunday’s season opener circled on his calendar for quite some time.
Rodgers had a very forgettable two-year run as the Jets QB over the last two seasons, leading the team to a 5-12 record in 2024 after missing all of the 2023 season after tearing his Achilles in the season opener that year.
And while it was expected the two sides would part ways this offseason, first-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn rubbed Rodgers the wrong way after an awkward meeting between the two to discuss their future together.
“I figured that when I flew across country to my dime, there would be a conversation,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” over the summer. “The confusing thing to me is I went out there, I meet with the coach, we start talking … he runs out of the room. I’m like that’s strange. Then he returns with the GM, and I’m like, all right.
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“So we sit down and I think we’re going to have this long conversation, and 20 seconds in and (Glenn) goes, ‘You sure you want to play football?’ And I said yes, and he said, ‘We’re going in another direction.’ … There wasn’t an ample amount of respect.”
Because of Glenn’s chilly disposition toward Rodgers, the 41-year-old QB likely had some extra incentive to leave MetLife Stadium with a win on Sunday.
Rodgers had arguably his best game in the last few years, passing for 244 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions while leading the Steelers on a six-play, 39-yard scoring drive finished off by a Chris Boswell 60-yard field goal to put Pittsburgh ahead for good.
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While Rodgers presumably felt a good deal of vindication as he walked off the field, he also didn’t pass up an opportunity to mock some Jets fans on his way to the locker room.
Rodgers held up his hand to his ear, taunting the fans who were talking smack to him.
He also yelled something in the fans’ direction, though exactly what he said was inaudible in the video.
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