Aaron Rodgers has confirmed he is ready to leave the Green Bay Packers for the New York Jets.
The quarterback made the announcement during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. He said he had been considering whether to retire or return to the NFL but 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.”
"When I went into the darkness I was 90% retiring.. when I came out I heard from multiple people that the Packers were interested in moving me"@AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/hBSIXvITcx
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 15, 2023
The Packers and Jets have yet to agree on a trade, and they will need to come to terms on compensation and a possible restructuring of Rodgers’ contract. He is due to make $59.5m in salary and bonuses this season but, according to ESPN, the Packers would absorb much of that cost and he would only count $15.8m in 2023 and $32.5m in 2024 towards the Jets’ salary cap.
The 39-year-old said he went into a darkness retreat earlier this year 90% sure he would retire. That mindset changed, apparently to the Jets’ benefit. Rodgers added that he still has fond feelings towards Green Bay and its fans.
“I fucking love that city,” he said. “I love that organization and always going to have love for that organization. The facts are right now they want to move on and now so do I.”
On Tuesday, it was reported that Rodgers had given the Jets a “wish list” 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 only demand 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 to 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.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, ESPN reported that former No 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield has agreed terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are in search of a starting quarterback after the retirement of Tom Brady.
