Let’s face it every Green Bay Packers offseason includes a lot of Aaron Rodgers drama with him eventually just saying he’s going to come back and play for Green Bay again. Despite moments like Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers posting that it was going to be their last dance 2 years ago. Which turned out to be Davante Adams’s last dance.
Even though the Packers had to trade Rodgers’ top wide receiver to the Raiders and the Broncos were willing to give up multiple first-round picks for Rodgers last year Rodgers would decide to return to the Packers. There have been so many scenarios where it seemed like Rodgers was going to be on his way out but it never actually happened.
However, this past year seems a little bit different. This year there are many things in place that would link Aaron Rodgers to a brand-new team. Specifically that the Jets have tons of weapons on both offense and defense and just need a QB to lead them. Three of these weapons actually got together and made a video to recruit Rodgers to the Jets which involved them burning a cheesehead.
"Need you to come here so we can win a Super Bowl."
Sauce Gardner really burned the cheesehead to recruit Aaron Rodgers 🤣
(via @iamSauceGardner) pic.twitter.com/1EuDXvokgr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2023
The Jets players have made it very clear they want Aaron Rodgers. In fact, Zach Wilson the current Jets QB doesn’t seem to care Rodgers could be taking his job. Wilson has stated that he looks at Rodgers as a mentor. So there could be a scenario where Wilson sits and learns from Rodgers for a year or 2 and then the Jets give him another shot. Many people forget that Aaron Rodgers had to completely change the way he threw the football when entering the NFL. That’s something Zach Wilson also needs help on. Rodgers might save Zach Wilson.
Another thing to consider with the Jets is that they have Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. Aaron Rodgers has very high praise for Nathaniel Hackett. Just watch this statement he made about Hackett in an interview.
Aaron Rodgers in November 2020 on Nathaniel Hackett, now the Jets OC:
“I love him. Hope he doesn’t go anywhere — unless I do.” pic.twitter.com/oCDhvorQi5
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 26, 2023
There are so many links that Aaron Rodgers has to the New York Jets. On the flip side, the Packers also have plenty of motivation to trade Rodgers too. Jordan Love is entering a contract year. The Packers have to decide if they want to exercise Jordan Love’s 5th-year option or not. The Packers would have to pay Love $20.272 Million on that option and Rodgers’ contract has a cap hit of just over $40 million. Paying 60 million for two quarterbacks especially 20 million towards a QB who most likely wouldn’t see the field would be crazy. If the Packers truly believe Jordan Love is the future QB it’s time for them to let him be the starter.
That’s just speculation but there have been interviews where Mark Murphy himself has made it clear the Packers want to move on from Rodgers. Check out this one.
#Packers president Mark Murphy in this interview: "Very few players play for only one team. Obviously Brett had a good career. Aaron had a good career here.”
Can't get any clearer than that. The Packers are done with Aaron Rodgers.
(🎥 @TorresAdrianaTV) pic.twitter.com/A2VmK6WUGF
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 10, 2023
There are a few major things Mark Murphy says in this interview. First, he made it pretty clear that the Packers are ready to move on from Rodgers. As Ari Meirov pointed out in the tweet what Mark Murphy said doesn’t sound like a team that’s going to keep Aaron Rodgers. Another major thing Mark Murphy said is that he believes that this will be resolved before free agency. Along with talking up Jordan Love and saying that the organization has a lot of confidence in him.
What makes this even more clear is another interview Mark Murphy had where he was asked the question: Is there a scenario where Rodgers is the starting quarterback in 2023? To which Murphy replied: “Yeah I mean unless things don’t work out the way we want them, yeah we would. He is obviously a great player.” The key words here are “unless things don’t work out the way we want them” basically meaning the Packers don’t want to keep him.
#Packers president Mark Murphy says the team would honor a trade request if Aaron Rodgers made one. Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/wcrFFCKCZj pic.twitter.com/iWYeHx9KdA
— WLUK-TV FOX 11 (@fox11news) March 10, 2023
Between the Packers giving the Jets permission to meet with Rodgers and these interviews from Mark Murphy it’s clear the Packers want to move on and it’s clear the Jets want Rodgers. This leaves Rodgers with essentially 2 choices remaining: Go play for the Jets or retire. This decision is likely going to be made in the next few days and will have a huge impact on both the Jets and the Packers.
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