The New York Giants swung and missed on quarterback Matthew Stafford, who on Friday reached an agreement with the Rams to remain in Los Angeles. Shortly after that domino fell, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the Giants’ interest turned toward soon-to-be free agent and current Jets QB Aaron Rodgers.
After all that’s happened throughout his past two drama-filled seasons in New York, it is hard to fathom the 41-year-old Rodgers remaining in the Big Apple, but here we are.
Could things work out better for the Giants than they did for the Jets? It’s difficult to imagine things going worse. One thing we know for sure is that the Rodgers experience, no matter where he winds up, is never boring.
One person who knows that better than most is The Athletic’s Jets reporter Zack Rosenblatt. We reached out to him to provide insight into just what the Rodgers experience might be like for the Giants — the good and the bad.
Carroll: OK, let’s get this out of the way first: How big of a role did Rodgers play in things going sideways for the Jets last season?
Rosenblatt: He played a role certainly — but as quick as people are to criticize him, it was far from being entirely his fault things went so wrong, even if he did play a role in some of their issues. If you had told anyone that Rodgers would play all 17 games, I think most people would have assumed the Jets’ season went relatively well.
But he spent much of the season banged up, and even when he was healthy, he was not exactly playing his best football most of the season. His role in their struggles had more to do with two things. First, his insistence on bringing in certain players (wide receiver Allen Lazard, running back Dalvin Cook being the main culprits) in 2023 destroyed some of the team’s cap flexibility. Second, his insistence on running an antiquated offense made it easier for defenses to stop them.
But we cannot forget that former general manager Joe Douglas took some wild swings and misses in free agency and on the trade market (swapping Bryce Huff and John Franklin-Myers out for Haason Reddick could not have gone worse), while owner Woody Johnson’s meddling got out of control. The Jets might not have succeeded anyway, but Johnson’s decision to fire coach Robert Saleh after five games was an unmitigated disaster.
Ultimately, the Jets’ issues were more about bad culture and a lack of discipline than a fault of Rodgers, even if he definitely played a role in why things failed.
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Carroll: The part about Rodgers’ insistence on having a say in roster decisions and the offensive scheme is the most intriguing part to me. You have to wonder how much control he’d want with any new team he joins. In the case of the Giants, would they have to bend to his will?
After watching how things went down with the Jets, it’s hard to imagine the Giants allowing him to have that much power. For one thing, Brian Daboll is an offensive-minded coach with his own system. He may or may not be the play caller next year, but it seems unlikely he’d be willing to cede much control to Rodgers.
That would have to be something the two sides hashed out before agreeing to a deal. If they can, well, the heat is on this regime to win now. GM Joe Schoen said at the combine he is looking for “the best player available that can help us win games in ’25.” After losing out on Stafford, maybe Rodgers really is their best option — even if some concessions have to be made. But that brings me to another question: What, if anything, do you think Rodgers learned from the mistakes made during his time with the Jets?
Rosenblatt: I alluded to some of this already, but Rodgers’ insistence on running the offense how he saw fit — which is why Nathaniel Hackett, a disaster as a play caller, was hired at all — held the Jets offense back significantly. I don’t necessarily know if Rodgers learned from that, and I’d be concerned about his willingness to learn and adjust to a new offense. By the end of the season, Rodgers was funneling targets to his closest friend on the team (Davante Adams), which didn’t go over well with some of his teammates. And then there’s the issue of distractions. There’s no better example of what that looked like than when Rodgers went on “The Pat McAfee Show,” made references to Jimmy Kimmel being tied to Jeffrey Epstein, then stood in front of the media shortly after to say the Jets need to stop letting distractions get in the way of football. Distraction is Rodgers’ middle name. At various points, he threw one of his receivers (Mike Williams) under the bus for running the wrong route, skipped mandatory minicamp for a trip to Egypt, made a joke about Johnson’s teenage son to McAfee and got into a war of words with Saleh about cadence.
Has he learned from any of his Jets experience? I don’t know — but hopefully, for your sake, if he signs with the Giants, it becomes more about football than the other stuff.
Carroll: That’s a nice thought, but difficult to fully believe. The New York spotlight would still be on him for this second act. He’d be playing home games in the same stadium and, perhaps more importantly, sharing the same newspaper headlines and tabloid back pages, etc.
But maybe it’s possible to minimize distractions enough that the football would outweigh the inevitable surrounding chaos. If that can happen, well, let’s try and look at this glass-half-full, because I like to believe I’m a positive person. Based on what you saw this past season, why might bringing in Rodgers work for the Giants?
Rosenblatt: Well, Rodgers would be a significant upgrade over what they had last season, certainly. Rodgers was probably bad-to-terrible in a little more than half the Jets games, average for a handful and good-to-great for the others. It was a mixed bag, but there were still flashes of the old Rodgers in there, even if they didn’t show up as frequently. The main reason for optimism would be that by the end of the season, Rodgers was at his healthiest, whereas in the middle of the season, he was refusing scans on some of his injuries (including a bad hamstring) because he didn’t want the Jets to sit him. He’s never going to be the same mobile, improvising magician he once was, but he can be a perfectly capable starting quarterback … if you’re willing to overlook all the drama that accompanies him.
His season stats (3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) look good on paper, though they don’t tell the whole story, like how he tallied the second-most passing attempts in the NFL but ranked near the bottom in completion percentage and EPA per attempt, or his unwillingness to take shots downfield.
Over his final 10 games, Rodgers threw 18 touchdowns and only four interceptions, though the Jets only won three of those games.
Carroll: Rodgers’ health is certainly something the Giants would have to feel comfortable with if they were to sign him. Fortunately, by the time he’d suit up for the Giants in a regular-season game, he’d be about two full years removed from tearing his Achilles.
Another concern regarding bringing in Rodgers, or any QB really, is the supporting cast. The Giants are coming off a 3-14 season, but they have some interesting pieces. If star left tackle Andrew Thomas can stay healthy, the offensive line can be solid, though the group could still use some fortifications. As playmakers go, the Giants have an exciting one in Malik Nabers, who is coming off of a record-breaking rookie season.
And that brings me to my next couple of questions. Rodgers played with an excellent young wide receiver in the Jets’ Garrett Wilson. What was their relationship like? What worked and what didn’t as we think about a potential Rodgers-Nabers connection?
Rosenblatt: I wouldn’t say the two were exactly the biggest fans of each other by the end of the season, though they were at one point. In training camp, they were seen getting animated on the sideline and arguing with each other. People around the team have said that energy carried over into the regular season a bit. I know Wilson was frustrated with Rodgers’ funneling targets to Adams late in the season, especially in the red zone where Wilson was rarely targeted by Rodgers. One issue the two ran into: Wilson likes to freelance on his routes sometimes to get open, using his unreal athleticism, while Rodgers typically requires his receivers to be where he expects them. It was a clash of styles, but it still resulted in plenty of production, with Wilson securing career highs in receptions (101), yards (1,104) and touchdowns (seven).
Carroll: Right now, the Giants don’t have anyone on the roster who’d be a threat to take targets away from Nabers, so that shouldn’t be an issue. However, Nabers won’t hold back if he’s not getting the ball and the Giants are losing. So that would be something to watch.
Speaking of relationships with teammates, my last question is how do you feel Rodgers would handle a situation in which the Giants used their No. 3 pick on a young quarterback. Rodgers obviously knows he’s not the Giants’ long-term answer at the position, so would he be open to mentoring a young QB behind him?
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Rosenblatt: I actually think Rodgers would be perfectly fine being the bridge to a younger quarterback. That was originally the plan with Rodgers and Zach Wilson, but their relationship soured once Rodgers tore his Achilles and wasn’t around the team as much initially — and Wilson struggled to lead the team in his absence. Rodgers previously had a positive relationship with Jordan Love despite all the awkward circumstances around that situation. Rodgers has said he never wants a young quarterback to feel the way Brett Favre made him feel when Rodgers was drafted in Green Bay, and despite all the controversy that follows Rodgers, teammates tend to appreciate his company.
Carroll: It’s hard to argue against pairing a future Hall of Famer with a rookie who could soak up all that knowledge and experience. But as we know with Rodgers, it’s not as simple as that. Whether the QB wants it or not, drama tends to follow him wherever he goes. And if his next stop is with the Giants, playing in the same city where things so recently went off the rails, well, it’ll be an adventure to say the least.
(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
