Multiple teams remain interested in quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But if he should decide to retire, there reportedly is not much of an appetite for Rodgers among the major TV networks.
Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com found “surprisingly little interest” in Rodgers, based on conversations with “sources at multiple NFL media partners.”
There would be interest in Rodgers, if he hadn’t made a heel turn in 2021.
“He could be a great analyst,” one unnamed source told McCarthy, “but he’s insufferable.” Another unnamed source said Rodgers “needs an image rehab.”
And McCarthy wrote this in his article, regarding media executives to whom he spoke: “Their main concern, under condition of anonymity, is that Rodgers comes off as a pompous know-it-all who would turn off viewers. His dalliance with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and public feuds with critics like Jimmy Kimmel on The Pat McAfee Show also concern some.”
Of course, there’s no indication Rodgers would even want a media job. He has said in the past that he’s not interested in broadcasting games. During one of his appearances with McAfee during the 2024 season, Rodgers vowed to disappear from public view once his playing career ends.
Frankly, I don’t buy the notion that no one would want him. The networks desire ratings, and Rodgers is interesting, even if he’s insufferable. Frankly, I’d rather hear him speak candidly about what he sees than listen to the vast majority who tiptoe around telling the truth about the players, the coaches, the teams, and/or the league because they don’t want to piss anyone off.
If one of the traditional broadcast partners won’t hire Rodgers, someone will — if he decides that he wants to talk about football after he’s done playing it. That’s really the first question. Unless and until that’s what he wants to do after he’s done playing, nothing else matters.
Wide receiver Rondale Moore’s search for his next NFL team has him in Nashville on Wednesday.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Moore is visiting the Titans. Moore has also met with the Bears, Vikings, and Jets in recent days.
Moore was traded from the Cardinals to the Falcons for quarterback Desmond Ridder last year, but a knee injury kept him out for the entire season. The 2021 second-round pick had 135 catches for 1,201 yards and three touchdowns while running 52 times for 249 yards and a touchdown while in Arizona.
Calvin Ridley, Van Jefferson, and Treylon Burks are the most experienced receivers on the Titans roster at the moment.
Free agent wide receiver Rondale Moore is making the rounds.
He took another free agent visit Tuesday, traveling to the Jets after previously visiting the Vikings and Bears.
Moore was traded from the Cardinals to the Falcons ahead of the 2024 season, but he injured his right knee in training camp and missed the entire season.
Moore, 24, was a second-round pick of Arizona in 2021, and he spent three seasons in Arizona.
He had 135 catches for 1,201 yards and three touchdowns with the Cardinals, while also running 52 times for 249 yards and a score. Moore also saw time as a returner in his rookie season.
The Jets have signed defensive tackle Jay Tufele, the team announced Monday.
He is the second defensive tackle that Jets General Manager Darren Mougey has added in free agency, joining Byron Cowart, who played for the Bears last season.
Tufele played 13 games, with three starts, last season for the Bengals and totaled 15 tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits. He saw action on a career-high 243 defensive snaps in 2024.
The Jaguars drafted Tufele in the fourth round out of USC in 2021. He played one season with Jacksonville, where he appeared in four games.
He spent the past three seasons with the Bengals, who claimed him off waivers form the Jaguars in 2022.
In his career, Tufele has appeared in 34 games with five starts, playing 531 defensive snaps and 61 on special teams. He has recorded 44 tackles and half a sack.
After four years with the Jets, offensive lineman Mekhi Becton was viewed as a major disappointment: The 11th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Becton missed more games than he played and never developed into the franchise left tackle the Jets wanted him to be.
Then last year Becton signed a one-year contract with the Eagles, moved to guard, and played well enough that last week the Chargers signed him to a two-year, $20 million contract. On his way out, Becton is thanking the Eagles for making him a better player.
“The standard we upheld and the way we showed up for each other every single day, that’s what made this past season the most fun I’ve ever had playing football, and it was all because of the guys in that locker room,” Becton wrote on social media. “To the offensive line, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to go to battle with. Thank y’all for welcoming me in and for setting the standard for showing me what it truly means to prepare to fight through injuries, to push through the pain and to handle business at the highest level. I learned so much just from being around each of you.”
Becton singled out Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland as a man who has made a difference in his career.
“Coach Jeff Stoutland, thank you,” Becton wrote. “From Day One you believed in me, even before I fully believed in myself, you saw something in me, challenged me and pushed me to reach a level I never knew I had. You made me a better player but more importantly, a better man.”
The Eagles helped Becton grow into a better version of himself than the Jets ever saw, and he helped them win a Super Bowl. And the Chargers now stand to benefit.
