When the New York Jets opted to move on from Aaron Rodgers during the 2025 offseason, the four-time NFL MVP and former Super Bowl champion told anyone who could listen how big a mistake releasing him was.

For head coach Aaron Glenn, though, he wasn’t as interested in leading a team with a celebrity quarterback. He wanted to build the Jets in his own image.

At 3-9, that plan hasn’t exactly worked out.

However, just because the Jets have struggled, it doesn’t mean they made a mistake by letting go of Rodgers. The future Hall-of-Famer has not found success in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, either.

In his 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the former Gang Green signal-caller showed exactly why New York made the right decision.

Rodgers calls out Steelers

A consistent theme for Rodgers during his tenure with the Jets, and now with the Steelers, has been that when something goes wrong, he quickly points the finger at other people.

It happened again in Pittsburgh’s loss to Buffalo. Instead of pointing the finger at himself for the group’s continued struggles on the offensive side of the ball, Rodgers made it clear that others needed to step up.

“When there’s film sessions, everybody shows up, and when I check to a route, you do the right route,” Rodgers said. “We have our meetings every week. We have other opportunities outside of the facility, and look forward to seeing all the boys there.”

On the season, the 42-year-old signal-caller has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,086 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Those numbers don’t seem too bad. However, under Rodgers’ leadership, Pittsburgh has fielded one of the league’s worst offenses. The Steelers rank 27th in total yards, 28th in rushing yards, and 24th in passing yards.

Rodgers simply hasn’t been effective enough to lead a successful offensive unit. He ranks 27th out of 31 quarterbacks in QBR (40.5).

Injuries are certainly a part of the issue in Pittsburgh, including for Rodgers, who is dealing with a fractured left wrist. However, at 6-6, the Steelers’ season is spiraling out of control after a 4-1 start, and their quarterback issues are a significant reason.

Things aren’t going any better for the Jets in 2025, particularly at quarterback. But the recent play of Rodgers and the Steelers is a reminder that New York was never going to go far with the former league MVP on the roster.

For that reason, the Jets were wise to wipe the slate clean.

Jets are better off

The main reason why Glenn and the Jets opted to move on from Rodgers was that they wanted to bring in their own brand of players onto the roster. As a 20-year NFL veteran, Rodgers had been used to one way to create success.

The Jets are trying to find success in a different way. Whether it works out or not is irrelevant. Rodgers’ plan for success hasn’t yielded many victories over the last few years, anyway, so the Jets had no incentive to adhere to his vision.

New York is at least trying to do things in a way that establishes their own culture. Rodgers didn’t align with that culture for multiple reasons, including his age, his preferred scheme on the field, and his tendency for finger-pointing—three things already rearing their ugly heads in Pittsburgh.

At 3-9, the Jets’ cultural rebuild is still in its early stages. But with the Steelers sitting at 6-6 in a miserable AFC North due to a poor offense, it’s not as if the Jets would be lighting the world on fire if they kept Rodgers.

That alone is enough of a reason to show why Gang Green made the right call in the end.