Aaron Rodgers: “My intention is to play for the New York Jets” in 2023 as Packers’ move looms
Aaron Rogers said Wednesday that he plans to play for the New York Jets in 2023 after 18 seasons in Green Bay as the four-time NFL MVP quarterback waits for the Packers to trade him.
Rogers made his comments during appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and SiriusXM. Rodgers, 39, said he believes the Packers want to move on and make 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love their starting quarterback.
“At this point, as I sit here, I think I’ve made it clear since Friday that my intention was to play and my intention is to play for the New York Jets,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t kept anything at this point. That’s the compensation the Packers are trying to get for me, kind of digging in their heels.”
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy has acknowledged that the team allowed the Jets to talk to Rodgers. The Jets sent a contingent that reportedly included owner Woody Johnson, coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas to Rodgers’ home in Southern California last week.
Rodgers expressed his appreciation for his 18 seasons in Green Bay during his Wednesday appearance but added that it was time for the Packers to “do the right thing.”
“I don’t think there’s a scenario where they’re like, ‘Well, we want it and the Jets aren’t willing to give it to us, so we’re going to take you back,'” Rodgers said. “That’s not reality.”
Shortly after Rodgers’ comments, the New York Jets Twitter account Posted A meme of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Rick Dalton — wearing a Jets cap — from the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The team tagged “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Rodgers’ comments followed days of speculation that his time in Green Bay might be over.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy spoke about the quarterback’s future to Green Bay TV station WBAY last week while attending the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association girls basketball championship. Talked about Rogers.
“Very few players play for just one team,” Murphy told WBAY. “Obviously, Brett (Faure) had a great career. Aaron had a great career here. No matter what, Aaron will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’ll be in our Hall of Fame. We’ll get him back. Will bring. , retire his number. That’s one of the things we go through as a team. We want to try to get something that’s good for Aaron and us both.”
The Jets’ interest in Rodgers has become clear as they look to end the NFL’s longest active playoff drought. They went 7-10 last season, lost their last six games and haven’t reached the postseason since 2010.
Their new offensive coordinator is former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who took over from Rodgers while coordinating Green Bay’s offense from 2019-21. Both Saleh and Johnson have expressed their interest in adding a veteran quarterback to a roster that already features one of the league’s best defenses.
If Rodgers ends up with the Jets, it will be a case of history repeating itself.
The Packers traded a 39-year-old Brett Favre to the Jets in 2008, a move that marked Rodgers’ arrival as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. Favre won three MVPs with Green Bay during his Hall of Fame career.
A first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers spent three seasons backing up Favre, who retired after each of those seasons before finally deciding to return for at least one more year. Considered CBS Sports reports. Just as the Packers decided back in 2008 that they had enough of the Favre era and would move on to Rodgers, now they’re apparently doing the same to Rodgers himself — according to Rodgers — and Love. want to move on, whom they selected in the first round of the draft three years ago. If Rodgers got his wish, he and Favre would be traded to the exact same team, on the exact same timeline as their successor was drafted.
In 15 seasons as the Packers starter, Rodgers compiled a 147-75-1 regular season record, completing 65.3% of his passes with an average of 7.7 yards per attempt, 59,055 yards, 475 touchdowns, and only Threw 105 interceptions. According to CBS Sports. He won the Most Valuable Player Award four times, was named First Team All-Pro four times, Second Team once and Pro Bowler 10 times, and won both the Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP. He leaves Green Bay as the franchise’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns, and also owns the NFL single-season records for both passer rating and interception rate. He will join a Jets team that sports one of the NFL’s best defenses and an interesting skill position group, and reunite with former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who now has the same role in New York. .