NEW YORK — The New York Jets are reportedly taking a chance on another future Hall of Fame quarterback from the Green Bay Packers, and this one, ironically, is a bit older than the previous one.
Super Bowl quarterback and MVP Aaron Rodgers has confirmed long-running rumors about the show The Pat McAfee To showwhere he has a regular (sometimes controversial) segment on Wednesday.
“I made it clear that my intention was to play for the New York Jets,” Rodgers said.
No trade has been officially announced and Rodgers said terms are still being finalized. He confirmed his intention virtually the same time the Jets tweeted wide-eyed about The Pat McAfee Show.
It’s almost like they know, huh? Rodgers indicated as much, saying in Wednesday’s update, although still vague, that the decision was made a few days ago. Now it’s time to solve the compensation.
Even for Rodgers, who has been notoriously unpredictable when it comes to decision-making in the NFL, his statements in The Pat McAfee Show combined with the Jets tweet, they leave little doubt.
Rodgers described the apparent move as a fitting transition into the “next chapter” of his life, when asked whether he should play in New York or retire, as had also been rumored for most of the last year.
4 p.m. marks the official start of NFL free agency, and while Rodgers isn’t a free agent, his future remains cloudy, mostly because he’s Rodgers. The 39-year-old spent time brooding in a shadowy retirement last month, saying ‘stay tuned’ when asked repeatedly about meeting Jets owner Woody Johnson and his future available in New York.
Lately, however, all signs point to the arrival of the Big Apple. The Jets had made it clear they were looking, and while the news isn’t official yet, the other two top free agent quarterbacks, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo, would be left out of the roster. Then came Rodgers’ reported “wish list” of players he supposedly wanted to accompany on the trip.
The last shoe to fall would have been for the Jets to make a deal with one of Rodgers’ most trusted and favorite receivers, Allen Lazard. Lazard was one of three Packers on Rodgers’ wish list.
It happened on Wednesday afternoon.
Supposedly, he also wants Odell Beckham Jr., former Giants player turned Brown turned Rams.
Even after another serious knee injury, fans are unlikely to complain about his return to New York, except, of course, for those in blue. No free agency deals can be officially announced until 4 p.m. ET. Follow all the frenzy here.
The Jets have been looking for their franchise quarterback since Joe Namath won his only Super Bowl in 1969. They’ve used three of the top five draft picks since 2009: Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson, and second-string picks . on Christian Hackenberg (yikes) and Geno Smith, who recently rebounded in Seattle, around the same time.
They went 90-136 in that span and only posted three seasons above .500 in that span.
Brett Favre was already 38 when he signed with Gang Green in 2008. He didn’t last a season there, moving to the Minnesota Vikings for the next two, where he performed much better, before retiring in 2010.
Rodgers earned MVP honors with the Packers in 2020 and 2021, but is coming off a 2022 season in which he had his lowest passer rating as a starter and threw 12 interceptions, his highest total since 2008. The Packers finished 8-9. missed the playoffs. to end a streak of three straight NFC North titles.
His imminent arrival would add more fire to an AFC Eastern Conference that has seen intense change since the departure of Tom Brady to New England, the rise of Josh Allen to Buffalo and the rise of Tua Tagovailoa, as well as the acquisitions of Tyreek Hill and Tyreek. Hill from his team. Jaylen Waddle via draft.