Jets make decision on quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing preseason finale against Giants

The New York Jets will be without their first team for Saturday’s preseason finale against the Giants at MetLife Stadium, head coach Robert Saleh told reporters Thursday. 

This means Aaron Rodgers has missed all three preseason games as he works his way back from the torn Achilles he suffered on his first series with the Jets in 2023. 

In his place, Adrian Martinez will be at quarterback in the first half before undrafted rookie Andrew Peasley takes over in the second. 

Despite Rodgers’ inaction this preseason, Saleh has insisted that the former MVP and Super Bowl winner is ‘absolutely ready to go’ for Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. Saleh added that the 40-year-old was ‘where we needed him when he first walked in’, insisting that Rodgers’ arm ‘is still 30 and he’s got plenty of mobility’.

Rodgers last year agreed to a new two-year, $75million guaranteed contract through the 2024 season.

Adrian Martinez (15) has impressed since coming over from the upstart UFL 

On Wednesday, the Jets had a joint practice alongside the Giants, with Rodgers under center.

Rodgers recently claimed that this training camp is ‘maybe the hardest in the last seven or eight of my career’.

The quarterback has had a turbulent few weeks off the field, too, after a controversial new biography shed light on – among other topics – the quarterback’s bitter family feud.

‘There are some interesting stories I’m sure that will come out of it,’ the Jets star said. ‘And ones that are not based on a lot of fact, to be honest.’

The book, Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, is written by long-time New York sportswriter Ian O’Connor.

‘There’s stories in there that I’m sure are true, there’s stories that are exaggerated over time. There’s stories that are perspectively true to people,’ Rodgers said.