Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets suffered their eighth loss of the season in Week 11, and it forced the franchise to make a major decision.
The Jets have fired general manager Joe Douglas after he led the franchise to a 30-64 record across six seasons. This decision comes nearly six weeks after the franchise fired head coach Robert Saleh.
Douglas’ firing came as a surprise to many, most noticeably the timing of the decision. Colin Cowherd recently floated a theory that Rodgers might have had something to do with the general manager losing his job.
Colin Cowherd Connects Aaron Rodgers With Jets GM’s Firing
During a conversation with Nick Wright on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” the Fox Sports analyst pointed out the odd timing of the Jets’ decision to fire Douglas. He highlighted that the Jets’ GM got fired after rumors emerged about the team planning to move on from Rodgers after this season.
“A story came out two weeks ago. Aaron was like, ‘Yeah, I think I’ll be back next year.’ And a week later, a story came out that said, sourced, ‘Jets aren’t sure if they want Aaron back.’ And Aaron went, ‘Hmm, somebody’s got to go upstairs,’ There is no reason to fire Joe Douglas, who will get a job in a week, there is no reason to fire him now. Does it not sniff of Aaron’s influence?” Cowherd said on his show.
As per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, although Douglas was the Jets’ general manager until he was fired on Nov. 19, most of the decisions over the last month were taken by the higher-ups in the organization.
Schultz also mentioned Douglas didn’t have much influence in the team’s decision to trade for Davante Adams, convincing Haason Reddick to end his holdout, and firing Saleh.
The Jets will have a completely new regime next year, and there are still speculations that the franchise could move on from Rodgers and have a new quarterback to start over with.
Rodgers Could Be Released by the Jets After This Season
While Cowherd hinted that Rodgers might have convinced the Jets’ ownership to fire Douglas to save his spot on the Jets, other sources indicate that the veteran quarterback could get released after this year.
Jets insider Rich Cimini wrote that it’s quite likely that with a new regime in place, Rodgers will no longer be the quarterback in New York next year.
SEE MORE: ‘When Will Aaron Rodgers Get Fired?’ — NFL Fans Blast Jets for Joe Douglas Firing
“With a totally new regime in 2025, it likely means Aaron Rodgers won’t be back,” wrote Cimini on X. “A new GM and new HC will probably want their own QB. Rodgers has a good relationship with Douglas, and last week he advocated for Jeff Ulbrich — and it’s hard to imagine him wanting to even be back.”
The four-time NFL MVP still has a year left on his deal, and the Jets will have to incur a cap hit of $50 million if they release Rodgers. The AFC East franchise now finds itself in a similar situation to the Denver Broncos when they had to part ways with Russell Wilson, and since that move worked out for Denver, New York could take the same approach.
Not having Rodgers on the team makes the Jets’ head coaching opening much more attractive, as a new head coach would like to build everything from scratch.