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It was Aaron Glenn’s first press availability since the Jets’ decision to move on from Aaron Rodgers.
It wasn’t until the fourth question that New York Post reporter Brian Costello brought up Rodgers.
Costello asked, “Are you confident that you can find a better quarterback than Aaron Rodgers for 2025?”
“We’re confident we’re trying to win games, so what that may be, it is what it is, so and that’s said,” Glenn said. “The thing is I don’t want to disrespect any other players we have on our team, and it kind of pisses me off and some of the other players that that’s what we all talk about. You have Quinnen Williams, you have Quincy Williams, you have AVT (Alijah Vera-Tucker), you have Joe Tippmann, all those guys need to respected as far as winning games also.”
Some might respect the fact that Glenn takes it as a personal affront that so many people are focused on one player – Rodgers, who they are releasing, and not on other talented players who remain. However, the bottom line is, now matter how cliche it sounds, the NFL is a quarterback-driven league.
“If you don’t have a guy who can play the position really well, you don’t have a chance, you can’t compete against the best teams in the league,” Hall-of-Fame QB Kurt Warner said.
So you could argue that Quinnen and Quincy Williams, AVT and Joe Tippman, no matter how talented, aren’t the same as the QB in terms of value in the NFL.
Of course, everyone on the roster should be treated the same by the head coach and the staff. There should be no favoritism or double standards, but that doesn’t mean other positions are just as important to winning as the QB.
Glenn is clearly getting tired of the Rodgers’ questions.
You could tell that as early as his introductory press conference.
“You can continue to ask me the same question, you’ll get the same answer,” Glenn said. “We’re still in evaluation mode. So, if anybody else gonna ask that, I’m gonna give you the same answer. So don’t waste your time. … You’re not going to get me.”
And keep something in mind about Glenn’s response on Tuesday to Costello. That was the first question with Rodgers’ name in it. It’s not like the opening presser, where he got fed up after a multitude of questions about the same guy.
It was the first question, and he knew he would be asked, and it went into that answer implying that people asking about Rodgers were giving the short shrift to other players who are still on the roster.
The only other question with Rodgers’ name was about Quinnen Williams tweeting, “Headed for another rebuild” after the news came out the team was moving on from the QB, who threw 28 TDs last year.
“Yes, I have talked to him, and listen, I understand the reaction of the players, but I would say this, every decision that me and Moug make is to win, and to win now,” Glenn said.
This answer should have led to a bunch of follow-ups, but there weren’t any.
Like – “Why was getting rid of Rodgers a move to help you ‘win now?'”
You can argue, he can be a pain in the butt, and Glenn clearly wanted to move on because he wants to establish a new culture.
However, to move on from a QB, who played very well down the stretch when healthy, aside from the Buffalo game, to enter QB no-man land, is a move to “win now,” that might confuse some people.
But there no follow-ups on that.
Reporting has changed.
Honestly, two questions about Rodgers to Glenn in his first presser after deciding to release the 4-time NFL MVP.
Weak.
And once again, I have to respectfully disagree with the premise that guards, centers, linebackers and defensive tackles are just as important as the QB.
Yes, you treat them all the same, but when you are building a team, they can’t be valued the same.
QB-driven league.
February 26, 2025
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