Aaron Rodgers revealed the moment he suspected Joe Douglas might be getting clipped.
During the Jets’ bye week with the team holding a disappointing 3-8 record, owner Woody Johnson fired the general manager, six weeks after head coach Robert Saleh met the same fate.
After joking about internet conspiracies that the quarterback had a hand in the whacking of Douglas, McAfee asked Rodgers what his first thought was and if he knew it was coming.
“Well, I didn’t know. I was on a plane about to head back to California and got a call. I love Joe. I spent a lot of time with Joe, a lot of conversations, he’s a f–king great man,” said Rodgers, who later added that he still speaks to Saleh.
“He’s a damn good general manager. I had really enjoyed our conversations. I’m disappointed because I had a hand in it. I had an opportunity to play better and to keep him here. So I feel bad about that because he’s a great human. The human aspect of this is tough because there’s families involved. Joe is such a great dude. I have so much love and respect for him.”
Nonetheless, Rodgers had an idea something was up when Johnson arrived, via chopper, at the facility during practice.
“I can’t say I was fully surprised, though, because there was a helicopter that landed at practice on that Tuesday,” Rodgers said. “I don’t know, I just felt like something crazy was about to go down. Maybe it isn’t crazy outside the building, but when the helicopter landed in mid-practice I was like…”
At this point, Rodgers’ former teammate A.J. Hawk interjected and asked if helicopter landings were abnormal with the Jets and mused that they are common with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.
“I mean, does he come in on a helicopter? I just knew, something might going down here,” Rodgers said.
“I was like, ‘Damn, I hope it’s not Joe.’”
Elsewhere in the spot, when talking about his future, Rodgers said that he was open to a number of scenarios for where he plays next but specified that his first choice would be to remain with the Jets alongside Davante Adams, the team’s young core — and a new regime.