Aaron Rodgers has showed he is able to depart the Green Bay Packers for the New York Jets.
The quarterback made the announcement all the way through an look on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. He mentioned he have been taking into consideration whether or not to retire or go back to the NFL however that “since Friday I made it clear that my intention was to play [in the NFL] and play for the Jets, and I haven’t been holding anything up. It’s the compensation that the Packers are trying to get … The Packers want to move on and have let me know that in so many words.”
The Packers and Jets haven’t begun to agree on a industry, and they’re going to want to come to phrases on repayment and a conceivable restructuring of Rodgers’ contract. He is because of make $59.5m in wage and bonuses this season however, in keeping with ESPN, the Packers would soak up a lot of that value and he would handiest rely $15.8m in 2023 and $32.5m in 2024 towards the Jets’ wage cap.
The 39-year-old mentioned he went right into a darkness retreat previous this 12 months and was once 90% positive he would retire. That mindset modified, it sounds as if to the Jets’ benefit. Rodgers added that he nonetheless has fond emotions towards Green Bay and its lovers.
“I fucking love that city,” he mentioned. “I really like that group and all the time going to have love for that group. The details are at the moment they need to transfer on and now so do I.”
On Tuesday, it was reported that Rodgers had given the Jets a “want record” of players he wanted alongside him, many of them current or former Packers teammates. One of those players, receiver Allen Lazard, has since apparently agreed terms with the Jets. On Wednesday, Rodgers said reports of a wish list were “ridiculous” but added the Jets had asked him about former teammates. “My handiest call for is for transparency,” he said.
Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP, an honor he won twice when Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was part of the coaching staff in Green Bay. However, he recorded his lowest passer rating for a full season in 2022 as the Packers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. In mitigation, Rodgers played much of the season with a broken thumb and had lost his best receiver, Davante Adams, to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Jets, meanwhile, have a talented young roster boasting both the offensive and defensive rookies of the year, Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. Their failure to reach the playoffs last season was widely blamed on poor quarterback play, a problem that would theoretically be solved by Rodgers should the Packers and Jets agree terms.
If Rodgers does move from Green Bay to the Jets, he will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Brett Favre. Favre joined the Jets in 2008 after 16 seasons with the Packers. He threw 22 touchdowns and a league-leading 22 interceptions in his only season with the Jets, which was hampered by injury.