When the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers, it was unclear whether the team was getting the veteran quarterback for just one season or more years beyond 2023. But as the offseason has unfolded, with the team now in training camp, Rodgers is continuing to hint at playing in New York for multiple seasons.
While appearing on the DiPietro and Rothenberg show on ESPN Radio in New York, Rodgers said he believes the Jets gave up a trade package worth more than one year of play.
“The Jets gave up a lot for me, so to play just one year would be a disservice,” Rodgers said in the interview, which aired Friday morning. “Now if that one year turns out to be a magical year, who knows?”
How long can @AaronRodgers12 see himself playing for the @nyjets?
— DiPietro & Rothenberg (@DRonESPN) July 21, 2023
"The Jets gave up a lot for me. To just play one year would be a disservice"
Check out our day at Jets Training Camp right here: https://t.co/LRud9Gk9cj pic.twitter.com/ZFGrddlKbs
In order to acquire Rodgers from Green Bay, the Jets swapped first-round picks in the 2023 draft with the Packers, along with sending a second-round pick, a sixth-round pick and a conditional 2024 second-round pick that could become a first-round selection. New York also received a 2023 fifth-round pick as part of the deal.
While the team’s level of success probably will influence Rodgers’s plans for next year, the veteran said how his body recovers from the season will be more of a deciding factor.
“It’s how my body feels,” he said. “I’ve made some changes this offseason, some training and diet. … Talk to me in three or four months. We’ll see how it feels. But the way I feel now, I feel like I can play a number of years.”
Rodgers has pondered retirement after each of the past few seasons, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him do it again. Still, after Tom Brady played until age 45, Rodgers doesn’t have to look far for the precedent of a quarterback playing at a high level well into his 40s.
