Aaron Glenn downplays facing Aaron Rodgers in Jets vs. Steelers Week 1 clash

The New York Jets' Aaron Glenn will have a monumental clash in his first game as a head coach in the NFL: facing off against the team's old quarterback. But he will not let the magnitude bother him.

Three months ago, the Jets released multiple-time MVP Aaron Rodgers after a highly disappointing 2024 season. Last week, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after weeks of speculation, and the two teams will begin 2025 against each other.

When asked about the matchup during mandatory minicamp on Thursday, the former defensive assistant largely sidestepped the topic:

“We have 17 really good games we’ve gotta play. I’m looking forward to playing all of them.”

Zack Rosenblatt

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Aaron Glenn on facing Aaron Rodgers in Week 1: “We have 17 really good games we’ve gotta play. I’m looking forward to playing all of them.”

Sticking to the subject of Rodgers, one person who did talk about him was defensive end (and former teammate) Jermaine Johnson, who reveled in the mutual excitement when asked about it on Tuesday:

"It was a pleasure having him around and stuff like that, and I wish him the best, but when I get between those lines, there's no friends. I think he knows that, and he feels the same stuff... There will be a lot of emotions, and when my emotions are high, I tend to play pretty well."

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Aaron Glenn backs running back Breece Hall as minicamp concludes

During the league owners' spring meetings, Aaron Glenn hinted at adopting a "committee" approach to running back. This led to much speculation that Breece Hall, the Jets' current leading rusher, might be traded.

But on Wednesday, the 2022 second-round pick himself definitively dismissed those notions, revealing that his new head coach had called to call him "our running back," whom he did not want to trade.

Zack Rosenblatt

@ZackBlatt

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Breece Hall on the trade rumors this offseason, said: “If people feel like you aren’t doing your job you’re going to be replaced.”

But said Aaron Glenn called him to let him know he wants him to be here.

He told him “Breece, I don’t want to trade you. You’re our running back.”

And after this renewal of faith, he is determined to have his first thousand-yard, winning season, and Pro Bowl nod, and prove his worth after years of "frustrating" losing records:

“I’m not obligated (to) anything," Hall said. I’ve got to go and prove that I am the guy. I feel like I am a three-down back. Every day, I’m going to prove I’m the best back on this roster and one of the best backs in the league.”

Aaron Glenn and the Jets begin their preseason at the Green Bay Packers on August 9.