Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not return to the New York Jets for the 2025 season, the NFL team announced on Tuesday, ending an era of optimism that instead resulted in a 12-22 record over the past two seasons.

The four-time NFL MVP joined the Jets in a trade with the Green Bay Packers on April 26, 2023.

On the fourth snap of his first game with New York, Rodgers went down with a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. He returned to start all 17 games for the Jets in 2024, but New York won only five of them.

Speaking with WNYW-TV in New York before Tuesday’s announcement, Jets linebacker and team captain C.J. Mosley said Rodgers did his best to try to break New York’s playoff drought, which reached 14 seasons in 2024.

“We tried to do something special,” Mosley said. “… He did do some great things this year, getting his 500th touchdown (pass). He was a leader no matter what when he came into the locker room where he was with us – well, you know, when he was with us this year. Nothing but respect for him to come back from an Achilles at 40-plus years old.

“I know the wins and losses can get in the way of a lot of things that you can accomplish. But that’s no reason for him to leave New York with his head down because I know he gave us his all.”

In his 20th NFL season, Rodgers completed 368-of-584 passes for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and ran 34 times for 94 yards and one touchdown in 2024.

“We’ve seen him sling the ball around,” Mosley said. “He can definitely still play ball. He was real mobile towards the end of the year, so that was fun to watch. That definitely got the sideline going. But like I say, it obviously is up to him. But I think he’s definitely still at least got a year or two in the tank. That’s what he said before everything started.”

Rodgers had one season remaining on a three-year, $112.5 million contract. By releasing Rodgers, the Jets are absorbing a $49 million slice off their salary cap for the 2025 season, unless they designate Rodgers as a post-June 1 release. In that case, the dead-money burden can be split between the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

In 2025, New York has a new head coach, Aaron Glenn, and a new general manager, Darren Mougey.

“Last week, we met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback,” they said in a joint statement released by the team on Tuesday. “It was important to have this discussion now to provide clarity and enable each of us the proper time to plan for our respective futures. We want to thank him for the leadership, passion and dedication he brought to the organization and wish him success moving forward.”

Mosley and Rodgers played only five games together with the Jets.

In 2024, Mosley dealt with a nagging toe injury and a herniated disk in his neck that limited him to four games after he had recorded 478 tackles over the previous three seasons.

Before becoming a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL, Mosley was a two-time All-State linebacker for Theodore High School. In 2009, he earned the Class 6A Lineman of the Year Award and recognition as a Parade All-American. At Alabama, Mosley was a consensus All-American in 2012 and a unanimous All-American in 2013, when he earned the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.