Woody Johnson Wanted Jets to Bench Aaron Rodgers: Report

Heavy on Jets

A lot of dirty laundry is reaching the public airwaves.

A bombshell report from The Athletic revealed that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson suggested that Aaron Rodgers should be benched after his performance in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos.

“The day after the Jets’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 29, there was a contentious meeting at the team facility. It included Johnson, Douglas, vice chairman Christopher Johnson, team president Hymie Elhai, and Ira Akselrad, an adviser to Johnson. It also included a group of coaches: Saleh, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, then-defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and special teams coordinator Brant Boyer among them. The coaches had been called in to explain what happened with their units during the 10-9 home loss to the Broncos. During the meeting, Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor because he felt Rodgers’ performance was holding the team back,” via The Athletic.

The coaches and Douglas were “stunned” by the thought of benching Rodgers and were able to talk Woody out of it.

“Benching Rodgers, with his pedigree, four games into the season would not sit well with the locker room,” the coaching staff and Douglas explained to Johnson in that meeting. “The coaches also felt it would embarrass Rodgers. The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious — multiple sources from that meeting believed he was.”

Rodgers Struggled in That Broncos Performance

The former four-time NFL MVP finished the Denver game 26-of-42 for 225 passing yards. He didn’t have a touchdown or an interception. However, he was sacked five times for a total loss of 41 yards.

That type of meeting with the owner, in which he would discuss benching the future Hall of Fame quarterback just a month into the season, sounds bizarre. However the very next week, Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh.

A ton of reports have come out since the news that Joe Douglas was fired by the team that says Rodgers won’t be returning next season. He is still on the team right now and these stories going public could create some big-time drama in the locker room. There are still another six games left in the 2024 season for the Jets.

Rodgers has appeared 98% of the snaps for the Jets this season. The only time he wasn’t in the lineup was back in Week 1 at the end of the game versus the San Francisco 49ers. Tyrod Taylor made his first and only appearance of the season.

Johnson’s Reported Level of Meddling Is Concerning

The Jets are cleaning house and plan to start fresh ahead of 2025. In The Athletic article, there were multiple instances reported of Johnson meddling in football decisions.

There was the attempt to bench Rodgers early in the season. The firing of Saleh without consulting with his then-GM Douglas. Bryce Huff was going to be offered an extension by Douglas but Johnson nixed it. A trade was in the works to acquire Jerry Jeudy in exchange for Allen Lazard and a day-two pick, but Johnson didn’t allow it to happen. The acquisitions of Tyron Smith and Mike Williams were believed to be social media-influenced decisions that Johnson listened to from the fans and put on his front office to follow through with.

Trading for Davante Adams was a Johnson-driven decision, per The Athletic. Heck, the recent benching of Tony Adams in Week 11 was “at the behest of Johnson,” The Athletic report explained.

If these stories are true or even the perception that Johnson would meddle to this level could negatively impact the Jets during their hiring process over the coming months.