As a season of humiliation nears its end for the New York Jets, a former coach of the team believes the team's most notable name has been trying to lay the groundwork for his departure.
After recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered just four plays into his debut with the team, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has drastically failed to live up to Gang Green's expectations as the Jets are currently 4- 11 and have been eliminated from the playoffs for a long time.
As speculation continues about Rodgers' future, a former coach of the team believes he already has one foot out.
Eric Mangini, who managed the Jets from 2006 to 2008, believes Rodgers has been “doing everything he can to get cut” by team owner Woody Johnson.
“The fact that Aaron mentions 'I've never been cut by a teenager, I've never been cut off by a teenager,' is a direct shot at the owner,” Mangini said in an appearance on “The Herd.” referring to comments Rodgers made on 'The Pat McAfee Show.'
Mangini continued: 'That legitimizes everything that has been said in the organization. That's making fun of how dysfunctional it is.
A former Jets head coach believes Aaron Rodgers is trying to get cut from the team
Eric Mangini (seen here with San Francisco) called Rodgers' recent statements a “direct shot” at owner Woody Johnson and “legitimizes everything that's been said in the organization.”
Rodgers has been woeful this season as the Jets once again failed to live up to expectations.
'So for me, as soon as he said that, in my mind I said I wanted out. But he doesn't want to retire, obviously. “You want to get paid and not have to deal with any of the returns that come with retirement.”
Mangini's characterization of the Jets as “dysfunctional” might actually be a flippant.
The team already fired its head coach (Robert Saleh) and general manager (Joe Douglas) after the Jets bitterly disappointed their long-suffering fans.
In a season in which the Jets were expected to challenge for the AFC East title, New York has performed woefully offensively, being one of four teams that has not scored at least 30 points in a game this season.
Rodgers deserves a lot of the blame. Even though the team traded for Davante Adams (the wide receiver Rodgers has the most history with in the NFL), Rodgers ranks 13th in total passing yards league-wide.
His 62.8 completion percentage is 27th in the NFL and his average passing yards per game is just 15th. Rodgers has only passed for more than 300 yards in a game once this season: a loss in time. extra 32-26 against the Miami Dolphins.
Rodgers has also had 33 sacks, tied for 12th in the league with Deshaun Watson and rookie Drake Maye. The only positive stat he has is his touchdown interception rate (24-8), which is in the top ten in the league.
There are only two games left in the Jets' season: Sunday afternoon's trip to Orchard Park to take on the already-crowned division champion Buffalo Bills and then next week's final home game against the Miami Dolphins.