Bucs Exec Jacqueline Davidson On GM Radar
Women have begun making inroads to GM consideration in recent years. The Broncos’ Kelly Kleine Van Calligan joined longtime NFL exec Dawn Aponte in interviewing for GM posts (with the Raiders and Chargers, respectively) in 2024. This came after then-Eagles exec Catherine Raiche met with the Vikings about their GM job two years ago.
The Browns soon hired Raiche as assistant GM, putting her squarely on the radar to earn future consideration for a top front office post. The Buccaneers have a veteran exec who may join the above-referenced women on the GM interview circuit soon. Bucs VP of football research Jacqueline Davidson looks to be on the radar as well.
Many within the NFL expect Davidson to eventually become the first female GM, according to the New York Post’s Brian Costello. (This would apply to the modern era, as Susan Tose Spencer operated as the Eagles’ de facto GM in the mid-1980s.) Davidson has been with the Bucs since 2020, after having spent 12 years with the Jets, rising to the club’s director of football administration. Davidson served under multiple GMs in New York, with Costello adding she was highly respected within the organization.
Davidson has not interviewed for a GM post yet but has been in the league since 2004. A Jets hire during Mike Tannenbaum‘s GM run, Davidson stayed on under John Idzik and then Mike Maccagnan. After having served as a Jets chief negotiator, Davidson has played a central role in Bucs contract talks for the past few offseasons, rising to her current post in 2023. Working with GM Jason Licht and cap chief Mike Greenberg in helping the Super Bowl LV-winning team retain its 22 starters for the 2021 season, Davidson played bigger roles in extending Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr. this offseason. Greenberg, who started his NFL career as a Jets intern during Davidson’s New York tenure, has been on the GM carousel for a bit from Licht’s Tampa Bay staff.
The Rooney Rule mandates teams interview two external minorities for all GM and HC positions. Women are included under this umbrella for interview purposes. Raiche did not land the Minnesota job in 2022 but soon helped replace eventual Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in Cleveland that summer. She did not interview for a position this offseason.
The 2025 offseason will feature at least one GM opening, after the Jets fired Joe Douglas, with more vacancies likely coming. A disappointing Jaguars season has Trent Baalke on the hot seat, while Andrew Berry (Browns), Joe Schoen (Giants) and Ryan Poles (Bears) are not assured of returning next year. It will be interesting to see if any women are part of the 2025 GM carousel.
Woody Johnson Nixed Jets Effort To Acquire Jerry Jeudy, Impeded Joe Douglas On Bryce Huff, Haason Reddick
The Jets are barreling toward their 14th straight season wrapping without a playoff berth, and their Robert Saleh-Joe Douglas regime’s unraveling points to ownership having a more difficult time filling its HC and GM positions come 2025.
Woody Johnson‘s meddling has become an issue for the Jets. The longtime owner admitted he went around Douglas to fire Saleh, something that led to the sixth-year GM losing power during his final weeks on the job. Other Jets power brokers led the way in the Davante Adams trade and Haason Reddick resolution talks. Earlier this year, however, Johnson stood as a roadblock to Douglas’ efforts to improve the team’s roster in other ways.
We heard in March the Jets joined the Browns and Patriots in pursuing Jerry Jeudy. The then-Broncos wide receiver, a trade-block staple alongside ex-teammate Courtland Sutton, went to Cleveland for fifth- and sixth-round picks. Denver may well have obtained more for the former first-round pick had Douglas gotten his way.
The Jets are believed to have offered a Day 2 pick and Allen Lazard — a 2023 Broncos target — for Jeudy, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt, only to see Johnson nix any potential deal. Jeudy going into his age-25 season intrigued the Jets, who aimed to avoid aging players in this year’s free agency (subscription required). That did not end up happening, as Tyron Smith and Mike Williams joined trade pickup Morgan Moses in joining the Jets in March.
It would have been interesting if the Broncos were willing to acquire Lazard, who was still owed a fully guaranteed base salary ($10MM) this year. Lazard underwhelmed after receiving $22MM guaranteed at signing in 2023. Denver did end up giving Josh Reynolds a two-year, $9MM deal; Lazard would have been costlier. Jeudy, who would have joined Garrett Wilson and potentially affected the Jets’ interest in Adams, has since signed a Browns extension.
Weeks later, Douglas signed off on acquiring Reddick despite warnings from his camp the Jets should not trade for the talented edge rusher unless they wanted to extend him. As it turns out, Douglas appeared more open to an extension than he initially let on. Reddick had expressed frustration with the Jets, believing they would revisit extension talks. Douglas may well have been onboard here, per The Athletic, which attributes the resistance to extending the then-29-year-old EDGE to Johnson. Even as Johnson helped bring Reddick into the fold in October, he certainly looks to have prevented his then-GM from extending him this offseason.
Before the Jets zeroed in on Reddick, they let Bryce Huff walk. Huff joined the Eagles on a three-year, $51MM deal, but if Douglas had his way, the team may have made a stronger effort to re-sign the team’s 2023 sack leader. Johnson is believed to have blocked his GM from making an extension offer to Huff, whom many teams pursued once the Jets let him hit the market. We heard in early February no offer had come. This came months after Johnson is believed to have restricted his GM from making a stronger effort to replace Aaron Rodgers once the QB suffered an Achilles tear.
Johnson also drove an effort to have safety Tony Adams benched in Week 11, with Russini and Rosenblatt reinforcing the notion the owner has placed too much stock in social media assessments of his team. Rumblings recently pointed to Johnson listening to too many non-football staffers in making decisions. This offseason also featured multiple high-ranking Jets football ops staffers dismissed, with assistant GM Rex Hogan being fired and then player personnel director Chad Alexander becoming the Chargers’ assistant GM. Johnson prevented Douglas from replacing either staffer, Russini and Rosenblatt add. (For what it’s worth, some in the organization believed Hogan had been responsible for many leaks; though, a flood of leaks have come out in the months since.) The owner’s actions led Douglas to tell some remaining Jets staffers Johnson “should just fire me now.”
Also believed to have pushed for the Jets to bench Rodgers after the team’s Week 4 loss to the Broncos — to the point one coach, per The Athletic, asked if the owner was serious — Johnson will have a lot to answer for after this wildly disappointing Jets season.
The Jets are expected to part with Rodgers, whom coaches feared would be embarrassed had Johnson gotten his way with the benching request. After all, Johnson played a key role in Rodgers agreeing to put off retirement and agree to a Jets trade last year. Sitting him for Tyrod Taylor so early in his Achilles comeback would have been one of the more shocking developments in recent NFL history.
This increased meddling will not make it easier for the owner to find quality GM and HC options in 2025, but even as the former ambassador to the United Kingdom is in the mix to reclaim that post under the second Donald Trump administration (a move that would again leave Christopher Johnson as acting owner), Woody Johnson is set to lead the Jets’ searches to replace Saleh and Douglas.
Jaguars’ Trent Baalke Wanted Doug Pederson To Fire OC Press Taylor?
The Jaguars stood 8-3 at this point last season but have gone 3-14 in the 17 games since that hot start. As a result, Doug Pederson is almost certain to be fired by season’s end. GM Trent Baalke is also on unstable ground.
Pederson remains employed as Jaguars HC, with owner Shad Khan thus far resisting the former Super Bowl-winning coach join Urban Meyer and Gus Bradley in being dismissed in-season. But it appears only a matter of time before Pederson is gone. Some around the league believe Khan will have no choice but to fire both Pederson and Baalke to start the 2025 offseason, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.
[RELATED: Baalke-Bill Belichick Jacksonville Partnership Unlikely]
Sitting 2-9 after a 52-6 demolition at the hands of the soaring Lions, the Jaguars rank last defensively despite that being the area Pederson focused on in terms of staff turnover. Pederson fired two-year DC Mike Caldwell and most of his staff but opted to keep OC Press Taylor despite Baalke having conducted a close look into the state of the offense with Taylor at the controls. Pederson made Taylor the team’s full-time play-caller in 2023, and that plan carried over into this season. The younger brother of Bengals HC Zac Taylor, Press has not distinguished himself during a dismal Jags season.
Baalke and Pederson are not seeing eye-to-eye presently, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes Press Taylor’s presence is a key reason why. Baalke is believed to have wanted Pederson to make more staff changes, with Taylor’s name coming up as one the fourth-year Jags GM would have liked to see go. As was the case with the Eagles, however, Pederson has been loyal to Taylor. This is not the first time Taylor’s name has come up as a Pederson anchor, nor is this the first report of Pederson-Baalke strife.
The Eagles shot down Pederson’s plan to promote Taylor to OC in 2021; the team fired Pederson soon after. Nevertheless, the former Philadelphia honcho brought Taylor with him to Jacksonville and has stuck by him despite steady criticism. The Jaguars have tumbled from 13th to 28th in total offense since last season and 13th to 23rd in scoring. Trevor Lawrence‘s absence has played a small part in the decline, though the former No. 1 overall pick has been healthier than last season on the whole.
It is rather interesting Taylor’s name has caused so many issues for Pederson dating back to his time in Philly — only to see no action taken. Taylor remains in place as Jags OC, though his tenure in that role will be capped at three seasons. This has marked Taylor’s first OC opportunity, but Pederson promoted him to pass-game coordinator with the Eagles. That drew scrutiny once Carson Wentz regressed; Taylor did not interview for another OC post once the Jags hired him in 2022. Taylor, 36, has been a Pederson staffer throughout the latter’s HC tenure, even though it was Chip Kelly who initially brought him to Philly.
The reported HC-GM friction aside, Fowler adds some believe the coach has not lost the locker room. Baalke has plenty to answer for as well, seeing as he greenlit the three most lucrative extensions in franchise history (for Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen and Tyson Campbell) only to see the team plummet off the contender tier. This came two years after Baalke’s famous Travon Walker-over-Aidan Hutchinson call. GMs do not receive second chances on the level HCs do, and it appears more likely than not the former 49ers front office boss’ second GM opportunity is nearing an end.
Daniel Jones’ QB3 Status Uncertain; Latest On Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll
For QB bubble-wrap scenarios, Daniel Jones‘ now looks closer to where Washington once went with Robert Griffin III compared to the two Jarrett Stidham AFC West instances over the past two seasons. It is conceivable Jones does not dress again as a Giant.
Today, the Giants went through practice with the six-year starter as the No. 4 quarterback. Recent practice squad addition Tim Boyle worked ahead of Jones, and Brian Daboll said (via the33rdTeam.com’s Ari Meirov) he is not certain which of the two will be the emergency No. 3 option in Week 12.
[RELATED: Giants Starting Tommy DeVito In Week 12]
Drew Lock handled the Giants’ scout-team work Wednesday, the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy adds. No. 3 QBs often operate in that role during practices, but the Giants will not ask Jones to do so. This further points to the team doing as much as it can to ensure the veteran starter — who suffered an ACL tear in 2023 and missed two stretches due to neck issues during his career — stays healthy, as a $23MM injury guarantee would come into play if an injury prevented Jones from passing a physical by the start of the 2025 league year. Otherwise, the Giants can move on for minimal — all things considered — dead money.
Yes, Jones received a staggering six seasons — give or take some injury absences and Eli Manning starting the first two games of the 2019 season — of run as the Giants’ starter and is in Year 2 of a four-year, $160MM contract, but this demotion is not going over too well in the team’s locker room. Dexter Lawrence called Jones the best quarterback on the team, and Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz adds others are disappointed by the way the Giants have effectively moved the QB out of the picture by dropping him to the third (or fourth) string.
Last year, Boyle ended up going from Zach Wilson‘s replacement to the waiver wire within hours; this came after Robert Saleh had still called Wilson the Jets’ best quarterback. While Boyle has a chance to serve as the other Big Apple team’s emergency QB Sunday, Lock is obviously disappointed by the team’s decision to start Tommy DeVito over him. Lock said (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard) both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen met with each QB on Monday to discuss the depth chart shuffle. Lock is tied to a one-year, $5MM deal and has 23 starts to DeVito’s six.
That said, the Giants viewing DeVito as a better runner and recalling the spark he provided last year’s team factored into the decision, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano adds. A 2023 UDFA, DeVito profiles as the best candidate among the current QBs to remain on the Giants’ roster beyond this season. Jones will be cut, likely via a post-June 1 designation, and Lock will presumably move on to another backup gig. Though, Lock’s stock has tumbled since the Broncos’ 2021 Teddy Bridgewater trade.
As for Jones, he remains with the Giants. Russell Wilson being demoted largely for contract reasons did not lead to him leaving the Broncos immediately, though Derek Carr did step away from the Raiders after Stidham replaced him in Week 17 of the 2022 season. Washington had picked up Griffin’s fifth-year option in 2014, but when those were guaranteed for injury only, teams could bail free of charge the following year as long as the player passed a physical. Washington indeed released RG3 after his bubble-wrap season, when Kirk Cousins started throughout.
While this latest contract-related QB move could be interpreted as a tanking decision, that would be quite odd given Daboll and Schoen’s tenuous statuses. John Mara‘s votes of confidence preceded nothing but losses, and some around the league remain skeptical. Both the coach and GM’s jobs are likely on the line, with others around the NFL viewing it as closer to a 50-50 proposition the duo is retained, per Graziano colleague Jeremy Fowler.
Both leaders took over a rebuild situation, and Mara has hoped to avoid another quick dismissal. The New York owner fired Ben McAdoo during his second season and then canned Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge following theirs. Daboll has gone 8-19 since his 2022 Coach of the Year season. Schoen admitted (via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz) the better-than-expected 2022 season prompted him to make moves that did not serve the organization’s long-term interest. Jones’ extension, after the Giants declined his fifth-year option in 2022, would certainly top that list.
Mara gave Dave Gettleman four full seasons as GM; with Schoen delivering a 2022 playoff berth, this would be a quick hook. Still, Schoen’s actions during Hard Knocks‘ first offseason project did not portray him well, as Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney are having All-Pro-caliber seasons. Whether Daboll and Schoen are brought back may now come down to DeVito, representing how far the regime has fallen.
Seahawks Designate S Rayshawn Jenkins For Return
Going through significant changes at safety this offseason, the Seahawks made Rayshawn Jenkins one of their solutions. While the team has moved on from both its stopgap linebacker starters (Jerome Baker, Tyrel Dodson) already, Jenkins remains in the team’s plan for the regular season’s final third.
The Seahawks designated Jenkins for return Wednesday, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar notes. Jenkins has missed time due to a hand injury. The offseason pickup had played multiple games with a hand cast and needed an IR stay; that stint looks to be coming to an end.
Jenkins joined the Seahawks on a two-year, $12MM deal. Considering how Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams (among other veteran safeties) fared upon being cut, the offseason Jaguars release did well to catch on. Seattle guaranteed the former Jacksonville and Los Angeles starter more than $6MM and used him as a first-stringer exclusively.
Seattle has Julian Love as its new centerpiece safety, having extended the former Giant this summer. The team took on more than $30MM in combined dead money by cutting Adams and Diggs, doing so without post-June 1 designations, but still has shown a preference for veterans on the back end.
Jenkins, 30, has made 86 career starts between his time with the Chargers, Jags and Seahawks. He made a notable impact during the Seahawks-Giants matchup, returning a fumble 102 yards for a touchdown. Seattle has used 2022 fourth-round pick Coby Bryant in Jenkins’ place over the past four games. Pro Football Focus ranks Bryant and Love as top-20 regulars among safeties, which could make for an interesting decision once Jenkins is activated. Although the Seahawks have placed George Fant on IR a second time, they are in good shape for injury activations, holding six going into Week 12.
NFC West Notes: Seahawks, 49ers, Higbee
Signed to similar contracts during the summer of 2022, Deebo Samuel and D.K. Metcalf have each become two of the NFL’s better wide receivers — each being chosen in the 2019 second round. The Seahawks nabbed Metcalf at No. 64 via trade-up, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes the team had aimed to first draft Samuel at No. 35. GM John Schneider had worked out a trade-up from No. 37 to No. 35, via the Raiders, but Schefter adds the Silver and Black backed out of the deal. The Raiders instead dealt with the Jaguars, who drafted Jawaan Taylor at 35. The 49ers chose Samuel at 36.
The Seahawks still do not know why the Raiders reneged on the trade, Schefter adds. The Seahawks initially held a higher second-round choice than the Jags, who picked at 38. After Samuel went off the board, Seattle dealt 37 to Carolina (Greg Little) and drafted safety Marquise Blair at No. 47. The Seahawks had planned to pair Samuel and Metcalf, rather than the Ole Miss product — who famously fell to No. 64 after having teams divided during the pre-draft process — being a Samuel fallback option. Though, Metcalf as a WR contingency plan — with Doug Baldwin retirement rumors circulating during the draft — rather than pairing him with Samuel makes a bit more sense due to Tyler Lockett being just 27 at the time. Samuel and Metcalf are going into the final year of their contracts; each team rebuffed trade offers this year.
Here is the latest from the NFC West:
- Samuel’s San Francisco status may have changed once Brandon Aiyuk suffered an ACL tear. The older 49ers WR had been a rumored 2025 trade chip, as the team prepares for a Brock Purdy payday. Although some around the league have wondered if the 49ers will pay Purdy the going rate (mentioning a Kirk Cousins trade as a backup plan), The Athletic’s Matt Barrows expects Purdy to indeed receive a top-market deal from San Francisco. Purdy going from Mr. Irrelevant to a deal in the $55-$60MM-per-year range would represent one of the most dramatic rises in NFL history; the 2025 offseason is the window for that to happen.
- Staying on the 49ers-in-2025 theme, the team has seen promising early returns from second-round rookie Renardo Green. The 49ers have viewed Green as a player who can work inside and on the perimeter; that matches Deommodore Lenoir‘s profile. Lenoir is now signed long term, but All-Pro Charvarius Ward is in a contract year. With Lenoir locked in, Ward appears headed back to free agency. As such, Barrows adds Green should be considered the favorite to start opposite Lenoir on the boundary in 2025. Pro Football Focus rates Green as the sixth-best CB regular this season, albeit on only 298 snaps.
- While Sean McVay said right tackle Rob Havenstein could be back this week, the eighth-year Rams HC indicated (via ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop) Tyler Higbee remains weeks away from returning. Higbee is still rehabbing the ACL and MCL tears sustained during the Rams’ wild-card loss to the Lions. The ninth-year tight end remains on Los Angeles’ reserve/PUP list. Havenstein has missed the Rams’ past two games with an ankle issue.
- Jake Moody missed time due to injury this season, being one of three 49ers kickers to go down, and did not impress upon return. Moody missed three field goals against the Buccaneers, prompting a heated Samuel to take issue with the recovered kicker (and long snapper Taybor Pepper). John Lynch said later the 49ers have not considered replacing Moody. “We didn’t blink,” Lynch told KNBR (h/t The Athletic’s David Lombardi). “We have a lot of faith in this kid. We all have rough days. There’s a lot of context to put in these things and Jake has earned a lot of respect from this organization.” Moody’s third-round contract runs through 2026.
Giants Designate OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux For Return
The Giants have managed to keep their pass rush in high gear without Kayvon Thibodeaux; it does not appear they will need to work without him much longer.
Thibodeaux is returning to practice Wednesday, starting his 21-day activation clock. Brian Daboll expressed optimism (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) Thibodeaux will be ready to go for Sunday’s Giants-Buccaneers game.
A starter since debuting in 2022, Thibodeaux has been down with a wrist injury since Week 5. He underwent surgery to repair the issue, and the Giants gave the Oregon alum the bye week to finish off his recovery. While Thibodeaux will return to a team in transition — thanks to the Daniel Jones benching — he is coming back to a pass rush that has kept going despite other issues holding the roster back.
New York did not trade Azeez Ojulari at the deadline, retaining the Thibodeaux fill-in even though it looks likely he will depart as a free agent in March. Ojulari has played well in his contract year, replacing Thibodeaux opposite Brian Burns. Ojulari has six sacks this season, matching Burns’ total. Dexter Lawrence still leads the way with nine. Only the Broncos (39 sacks) rank higher than the Giants (36) in this area.
Thibodeaux finished last season with team-high 11.5 sacks. He registered 2.5 in five games to start this season but is on pace for more QB hits compared to last season. After notching only 16 in 2023, Thibodeaux tallied seven before going on IR. The Giants are committed to Burns and Thibodeaux long term; both are Joe Schoen-era acquisitions, whereas Dave Gettleman drafted Ojulari in 2021.
Tommy DeVito making an appearance before Thanksgiving certainly illustrates another off-track season for the Giants, but they still have some promising pieces elsewhere on the roster. Thibodeaux is one of them, and a strong homestretch stands to help the edge rusher on the extension front. Schoen’s first draft pick having a productive final third this season would help the GM, who is in a battle to keep his job.
Thibodeaux will become extension-eligible in January, but the Giants may take advantage of having him on a rookie deal due to the big-ticket extension they gave Burns (five years, $141MM) upon trading for him. Big Blue can keep Thibodeaux on his rookie pact through 2026, via the fifth-year option that will probably be exercised — by either Schoen or his successor — by May.
Patriots Designate Cole Strange For Return
It looks like the Patriots will work Cole Strange back into action during Drake Maye‘s rookie season. The team’s 2022 first-round pick is set to practice Wednesday, Jerod Mayo said.
This will mark the start of Strange’s 21-day activation window from the reserve/PUP list, which the veteran guard has resided on throughout the season. Strange has been working his way back from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. This comes after a Mike Reiss ESPN.com offering indicated the third-year lineman is indeed in the homestretch of his recovery, pointing to an activation coming soon.
Playing exclusively at left guard during his first two seasons with the Pats, Strange has not yet justified his higher-than-expected draft slot. The Patriots chose Strange 29th overall and used him as a 17-game starter in 2022, but injury trouble surfaced last year. Strange missed four of New England’s first six games last season and then ended up shut down for their final three due to the severe knee malady he sustained.
Mayo had said Strange could see center work previously, and the rookie HC again did not rule this out. The Patriots have been without David Andrews for most of this season; the Tom Brady-era blocker is down for the rest of the year. Though, Mayo said (via the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi) the team wants to see Strange go through some practices before determining his position.
Not logging a snap anywhere else up front during his first two seasons, the young left guard returning would certainly boost a Pats line that has experienced staffing issues — particularly at center and left tackle — this season. The Patriots have given Michael Jordan the bulk of the work at LG this season; Pro Football Focus has rated both he and rookie Layden Robinson among the worst guard regulars this season. The team has also tried Michael Onwenu at left guard in recent practices, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. Onwenu has moved around the Pats’ O-line during his career but has concentrated on the right side, splitting his time between RG and RT in games this season.
Strange’s return should help the Pats settle on an Onwenu position, at long last. Although Mayo said third-round rookie Caedan Wallace was not yet ready to practice, a return before season’s end is expected. Wallace is eligible to come off IR, where he has resided since early October due to an ankle injury.
Jets Likely To Move On From Aaron Rodgers In 2025
This wildly disappointing Jets season has brought a gradual housecleaning, with Joe Douglas‘ exit the latest such move. The team’s attempt to load up its roster around Aaron Rodgers over the past two years has not worked, and the four-time MVP may soon be on his way out as well.
As the Jets are seeing their second blockbuster trade for a longtime Packers QB great fail, they are staring at perhaps another reset — albeit with some solid young pieces in place. Rodgers, who will turn 41 in December, may be more likely than not to be elsewhere once that overhaul commences.
[RELATED: Jeff Ulbrich Considering Play-Calling Change]
Nothing may be concrete just yet, but in the wake of the Douglas firing, SNY’s Connor Hughes reports the Jets would prefer to move on from Rodgers as well. Going further, a source told ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini it would be a “shock” if Rodgers was a Jet next year. Rodgers and Douglas shared a good relationship, Cimini adds, and the QB has advocated for interim HC Jeff Ulbrich. With a restart coming, the sides severing ties appears likely.
This news comes not long after a report indicated Rodgers’ post-2024 New York future was up in the air. Davante Adams expressed some rumored hesitation about Rodgers’ Big Apple future beyond this season; now, the All-Pro wideout is tied to a Jets team in transition. A separation might be mutual, as Rodgers has sought more stability than the Jets have provided.
Rodgers said recently he is leaning toward playing in 2025; this came months after the then-rehabbing QB said he was open to playing into his mid-40s. Based on his play this season, that seems unlikely to happen. While it would not be too hard to see teams pursuing him next year, the ex-Green Bay icon has not come remotely close to following in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady‘s footsteps in terms of success with a second team. Rodgers sits 24th in QBR and has not shown much of his early-2020s MVP form. Considering Rodgers did not fare too well in his final Green Bay season, it is worth wondering what a market would be for a 41-year-old quarterback not too far removed from Achilles surgery.
The Jets swapped first-round picks with the Packers for Rodgers in the April 2023 deal — in a trade that also saw two second-round picks going to the Packers — but sit 3-8 in the 20th-year veteran’s comeback season. Rodgers kept himself in headlines throughout last season by teasing a return from the Achilles tear, doing so despite the Jets struggling with Zach Wilson back at the helm. No comeback commenced, but Rodgers-generated headlines followed into the offseason.
The increasingly outspoken passer all but forced the Jets to retain Nathaniel Hackett as OC this offseason, despite Robert Saleh conducting a stealth push to curb the play-caller’s power by bringing in an assistant. With no title to offer, Saleh did not end up hiring a veteran to help/oversee Hackett, and Rodgers vouched again for the embattled assistant. Saleh planned to demote Hackett, and interim HC Ulbrich ultimately did. Todd Downing‘s transition to the play-calling role has not moved the needle. The Jets rank 26th in scoring and total offense; with Gang Green’s defense also regressing this season, the team is 1-5 under Ulbrich.
When the Jets separated from Brett Favre in 2009, they relinquished his rights due to a poison-pill provision effectively preventing the team from trading the future Hall of Famer to the Vikings. Favre ended up in Minnesota as a free agent, unretiring a second time. Rodgers teased retirement during his final Packers years and famously said he was 90% retired before his 2023 darkness retreat. Rodgers then OK’d a Jets trade, but the results have burned the downtrodden AFC East franchise, which brought in several of Rodgers’ former Packers teammates and coaches.
Due to signing bonus proration and void years on a 2023 Rodgers reworking, a $49MM dead cap hit would come if the Jets released him in 2025. This could be trimmed to just $14MM in the event of a post-June 1 cut. Even though the Broncos blazed new territory for dead money by cutting Russell Wilson (to bring more than $83MM over two years) and the Browns are staring at an unfathomable $170MM-plus bill if they drop Deshaun Watson next year, a $49MM cap penalty is still notable. The Packers ate $40.3MM by trading Rodgers last year, with the Falcons’ 2022 Matt Ryan trade standing as the single-player record ($40.5MM) before the Broncos’ decision.
The Jets rolled with rookie-contract quarterbacks primarily in between Favre and Rodgers. Zach Wilson‘s struggles prompted Woody Johnson to spend for Rodgers to chase course, but the franchise is close to giving up here. It will obviously be interesting to see where the Jets go if/when they move on from Rodgers, who would profile as a boom-or-bust bet as a high-profile stopgap in 2025.
Bears Place S Jaquan Brisker On IR
NOVEMBER 17: Poles does not sound optimistic that Brisker will return this year. In a statement that Cronin passes along, Poles said that Brisker “just wasn’t making the progress that we wanted. We also know from a performance standpoint, when you’re out of football for a while, there has to be a ramp up period to get your body in shape, to play the game and avoid other injuries such as soft tissue injuries. … So we’re going to slow this down and take time and allow him to take his time to come back. Would love to see him back this year, but we’re just going to take it one week at a time.”
NOVEMBER 14: Although staff turmoil has engulfed the Bears once again, the team has seen a concerning situation develop in its secondary. Jaquan Brisker is heading to IR because of a concussion.
The starting Chicago safety has been in the protocol since suffering a head injury in Week 5, ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin notes. This IR placement will lead to four more missed games. A 2022 second-round pick, Brisker has been a starter throughout his NFL career. He has also suffered three concussions in three seasons.
While this will give Brisker more time to recover, concussions rarely result in IR trips. This placement coming five weeks after the injury occurred introduces more cause for concern. Brisker started 15 games in each of his first two seasons and was in the Bears’ lineup for the team’s first five contests this year. This concussion has since defined his third NFL season, and the Penn State product will be shut down until mid-December.
Drafted in Ryan Poles‘ first offseason, Brisker joined a rebuilding team. He has since been one of the building blocks acquired on defense, joining Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon as second-round picks installed as starting DBs. As the Bears have not seen Caleb Williams show too much just yet, their defense has helped hold down the fort. Chicago’s defense ranks seventh in scoring and 13th in yards yielded.
The Bears had ruled out Brisker early in the week before their Week 10 and Week 11 games, with the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs pointing to more optimism about this injury existing prior to that. It is too early to speculate about Brisker’s career, but this concussion will cost him at least eight games. That is certainly on the high end. Brisker came into this season after undergoing thumb surgery as well.
Chicago, which cut Eddie Jackson and signed Kevin Byard this offseason, have turned to 2022 seventh-round pick Elijah Hicks in Brisker’s stead. Pro Football Focus has viewed Hicks as a solid replacement, ranking him ninth among all safeties — albeit on just 157 snaps — this season.