Headlines went crazy when Aaron Rodgers tagged former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams and New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson in an Instagram post. While many fans and pundits were thinking about the possible implications surrounding an Adams trade to the Jets, another player was tagged in small black print–David Bakhtiari.
Rodgers posted a picture of him and Wilson with the message: “Always love my 17s”. Rodgers tagged Wilson and Adams. Connor Hughes predicted the Jets would trade for Adams before the end of the season.
Aaron Rodgers raved about Garrett Wilson today after practice — voluntarily. Brought up how the biggest difference between #Panthers joints & one vs #Bucs was No. 17.
He then posted this on IG.
Hot take: Davante Adams will be playing for the #NYJ before the end of this season pic.twitter.com/5Ce1rjGHoT
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 17, 2023
Did Aaron Rodgers send a “hidden” message to a Green Bay Packers star?
That seems far-fetched. As does a new rumor swirling around New York. Ari Meirov with My Sports Update noticed Rodgers also tagged Bakhtiari in the post. The tag is hard to detect because it’s much smaller than Wilson’s and Adams’ tag and is in black font in front of Rodgers’ dark-green pants.
Didn’t realize this initially, but Aaron Rodgers also tagged David Bakhtiari in this post — tagged him on his rear end to be exact. 🤔 https://t.co/iy0J58c7ad pic.twitter.com/bBwZCfkTxq
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 17, 2023
Scott Thompson with Fox News wrote an article titled: “Jets’ Aaron Rodgers leaves hidden Packers message in the Instagram post“.
The implication being that Rodgers wants the Jets to add Bakhtiari via a trade. The Jets’ offensive line is in need of help. The team has discussed trading for Bakhtiari.
But is it true that Rodgers sent a hidden message to Bakhtiari?
No.
If one scrolls through Rodgers’ Instagram history, he often tags his friend Bakhtiari. There’s no reason for him to send a hidden message at all.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8), center, waves to fans after practice.
David Bakhtiari isn’t being traded…yet
Many complications would prohibit the Packers and Jets from trading Bakhtiari at least before the trade deadline. Due to the salary cap implications, it might not make total sense to trade Bakhtiari in the first part of the season.
However, trading Bakhtiari at this point might not mean too much to the Packers. After all, the Packers will have to eat the dead cap whether he plays in Green Bay or New York.
The front office could decide they want their offensive line to have a youth movement like the rest of the team and trade Bakhtiari for a higher draft pick than what they’d get at the deadline. Head coach Matt LaFleur has praised the offensive line, including second-year offensive tackle Rasheed Walker.
Regardless, Rodgers’ Instagram post has nothing to do with an impending trade negotiation.
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