Ian Rapoport Refutes Viral Aaron Rodgers Report -- Then Backtracks

Did the Jets really take a stand on Rodgers' interviews with Pat McAfee?

Jan 5, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) gestures towards the Miami Dolphins bench during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

We're getting mixed messages on the viral report involving the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers, and his interviews on "The Pat McAfee Show."

On Wednesday, the Jets officially announced their plans to split with Rodgers following the star quarterback's two forgettable seasons in New York. Soon afterward, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Rodgers' controversial interviews with McAfee, as well as his infamous trip to Egypt during last year's mandatory minicamp, came up during his recent conversations with the Jets.

“I was told that when they had conversations with Aaron Rodgers about what the future would look like, if you’re going to be part of this team you’re going to attend all of training camp,” Russini said on her "Scoop City" podcast. “You’re not going to do Pat McAfee interviews anymore. ... They had a conversation with him of, ‘If you were to stay here, here is how we would want it to be.’ So this to me is (head coach) Aaron Glenn getting control back.”

On Thursday night, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport seemingly refuted Russini's report.

"No, the Jets did not release Aaron Rodgers because he refused to stop doing (McAfee's show)," Rapoport wrote on the X platform. "They never asked him to stop and didn't view it as a distraction. The final decision was far more collective."

Rapoport offered further context shortly afterward.

"To be clear, (Russini's) report is true -- aggregators took it and changed it all," Rapoport said. "The Jets and Rodgers talked about what next season would look like if he were to come back. It included conversations about offseason workouts and outside media, including McAfee. No ultimatums."

So, what's the truth? It's hard to tell, but it seems like confusion -- if there even is any -- is just over semantics. Ultimately, it sounds like the Jets did speak with Rodgers about his offseason participation and interviews with McAfee, and they wouldn't do that unless they had some sort of problem with either.

Regardless, Rodgers has played his last game with the Jets, although the process of his actual departure could take a while.

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