NFL Update: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers announces intention to play for New York Jets

By
Zachary Cohen
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Green Bay Packers legend Aaron Rodgers wants to play for New York Jets

On Wednesday, March 15th, Green Back Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went on the Pat McAfee Show and announced his intention to play for the New York Jets. The future Hall of Famer had been keeping football fans in the dark while planning his next move — with the irony being that he spent a few days in the dark himself — but the legend now looks like he’ll be heading to a franchise that has been desperate for a quarterback. The two sides just need to work through the logistics of the trade. 

 

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This move would undoubtedly make New York a better football team, and you can’t blame anybody for wanting to put a little something on the Jets to do some damage next year — whether that’s winning the division, the conference or even Super Bowl LVIII. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, New York was a +2800 shot to win the Super Bowl before the Rodgers saga began. The Jets are now listed at +1400 to win it all, +800 to win the AFC and +200 to win the AFC East. 

Naturally, a lot of fans are going to compare this situation to the Jets bringing in Brett Favre in 2008. Both players had made their marks with the same franchise, and they each had a backup waiting in the wings that the Packers wanted to turn to. In Favre’s case, Rodgers was the one nipping at his heels in practice. For Rodgers, it’s Jordan Love that Green Bay is hoping can be the next in line for a team that seems to always have elite options under center.

Last season, the Jets surprised a lot of people by going 7-10 and being a lot more competitive than they had any business being considering the revolving door the team had at quarterback. Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White and a person named Chris Streveler all got snaps for New York last year, with the team wasting absurd play from rookies Breece Hall (80 rushes, 463 yards, 4 TDs in only seven games) and Garrett Wilson (83 catches, 1,103 yards, 4 TDs) along the way. The Jets were also ranked fifth in the league in defensive DVOA last year — a ranking that considers the unit to be elite — which is why owner Woody Johnson, general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh believe this team is a trustworthy quarterback away from competing for Super Bowls.

Rodgers will turn 40 in December, but the four-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl XLV champion (and MVP) and 10-time Pro Bowler is more than just trustworthy. Even in what was considered a disappointing 2022 season, Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for the Packers. He did that despite Green Bay having decided to trade his top wideout, Davante Adams, to the Las Vegas Raiders before the season. The Packers also opted not to replace Adams with anyone, leaving Rodgers with one of the worst groups of pass-catchers in the league.

In New York, Rodgers should be a lot happier with his surroundings. For starters, the team brought in Nathaniel Hackett as its new offensive coordinator, and the 43-year-old held the same position with Green Bay from 2019-21. He’s one of Rodgers’ favorite coaches in the league, and it was that hire that started to sound the alarms on this trade being a legitimate possibility earlier in the offseason. Then, New York went out and agreed to a four-year, $44 million deal with wide receiver Allen Lazard, another Rodgers favorite, on Tuesday, March 14th.

With Hackett calling the shots on offense, Rodgers is going to be very comfortable with what the Jets are running this year. He’ll also have one of the better groups of wide receivers in the league, as Wilson looks the part of a future superstar. He should quickly take his game to another level with Rodgers throwing him the ball, and then there’s Lazard and third-year receiver Elijah Moore, who could thrive in the slot in this offense.

New York should also get Hall back by the start of next season, and his ability to run the ball is going to make life on an aging Rodgers a lot easier. All in all, this is an offense that should be humming with Rodgers leading the way, and that should make the Jets a very dangerous team in the AFC — especially considering there could be more help on the way, with New York reportedly targeting Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis and Odell Beckham Jr. just to please the new face of its franchise. 

If the Jets can continue to add talent to their defense, this is a team that has the potential to do big things this season. The question is whether Rodgers has enough left in the tank to lead New York to the promised land. The Packers didn’t make the playoffs last year, but it’s hard to blame Rodgers for that. Green Bay skipped a lot of steps in the team-building process, and the Packers were nowhere near talented enough to win, on paper.

A decent argument can be made that this will be Rodgers’ most talented supporting cast in quite some time. However, the AFC East is a whole different beast and the competition in the conference is going to be fierce. It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but Rodgers would be the best quarterback the Jets have had in decades. 

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