Two more New York Jets stars to follow Aaron Rodgers out the exit door as Aaron Glenn's rebuild gathers pace

The New York Jets’ superstar quarterback experiment is over. 

After years of being a struggling, mid-to-low level team, fans of the Jets had hope that they could turn things around with a bonafide star in Aaron Rodgers.

General manager Joe Douglas paid a pretty penny for the former Packers signal caller (a first rounder [Lukas Van Ness], second rounder [Luke Musgrave], and sixth rounder [Anders Carlson]) in the hopes Rodgers could turn the franchise around.

Cut to today. Not only is Douglas out of a job, but so is Jets coach Robert Saleh (now replaced by Aaron Glenn). Even after bringing in many of Rodgers’ close friends and top targets, the best the quarterback could muster was a 5-12 season that horribly missed expectations.

So the Jets have cut bait. Yesterday, they revealed that they would be moving on from Rodgers and going in a new direction at quarterback.

Turns out, those top-targets of his don’t want to stick around either.

According to The Athletic, the Jets will be looking to manage their cap structure this offseason and will likely move on from two offensive stars: wide receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard.

An injury kept him out 99 percent of 2023 and he was lackluster in the 2024 season

Lazard arrived in New York the same season that Rodgers did – inking a four-year, $44million contract in March of 2023.

But after just two lackluster seasons, and spending plenty of time on injured reserve last year, The Athletic believes that Lazard will be cut.

According to the terms of his contract, if Lazard is released after June 1, the team would save $11m and will take on a dead-cap penalty of $2.1m (compared to a dead-cap of $6.5m if they cut him before then).

Lazard’s time in Florham Park was awful. After putting up 788 yards on 100 catches in his final season in Green Bay, the best he could manage in a single-season with the Jets was 530 yards on 60 catches.

As for Adams, the team traded with the Las Vegas Raiders this season to re-unite him with Rodgers – giving up a 2025 third-round pick.

While Adams performed as advertised – putting up 854 yards in eleven games and averaging 12.7 yards per catch – it’s believed that he won’t see out his deal that keeps him in New Jersey until 2027.

The Jets could find a trade partner, but considering Adams is owed $35.64m each year for the next two years, releasing him is more likely.

Per The Athletic, if Adams is cut from his deal, the Jets would save $29.8m in cap space and will take on a dead-cap penalty of $8.3m.

After struggling in his two seasons with the Jets, Allen Lazard could be on the chopping block

Meanwhile, it’s not clear if WR Davante Adams (L) will return after Rodgers gets officially cut

And then there’s Rodgers. After playing just four snaps in the 2023 season before tearing his Achilles, the hype for his return gave many Jets fans hope going into 2024.

After starting the season 2-1, the Jets lost five straight games before winning, but then losing another four in a row.

While Rodgers finished eighth in the league for passing yards, he never truly looked like the four-time MVP fans knew him to be.

And so, he will be cut. The plan is for the Jets to release him after June 1, which will save the team $9.5m in cap space while taking on a $14m dead-cap penalty in 2025 and $35m in 2026.

Rumored landing spots include the Pittsburgh Steelers, however one star player on the team has already voiced his opposition to that move.

Other potential destinations include the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants, and the Las Vegas Raiders.