It finally happened.
With ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting Monday afternoon that the Jets would acquire quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Packers for a first-round draft pick swap, a second-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a conditional 2024 second-round pick, one of the lengthiest flirtations between a superstar and a team in recent NFL history came to a close.
Despite having been telegraphed for months, the news still managed to set the football world on fire. Rodgers, after all, is a four-time MVP and one of the most successful quarterbacks of any generation.
Even NFL insiders seemed to express relief that the saga had drawn to a close, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport exclaiming, “Finally!”
🚨 🚨 🚨 Sources: The #Packers and #Jets have agreed to the mega-trade, sending 4-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the #Jets for major compensation.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2023
Finally!
The deal includes a 2nd rounder this year, a 1st round pick swap this year, and a conditional 1st rounder in 2024. pic.twitter.com/QfOWggeAU6
Many observers focused on New York’s newfound relevance as it seeks its first championship since the 1968 season.
The #Jets have not played a Sunday Night Football game since 2012.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 24, 2023
That will finally change this season. pic.twitter.com/YcWnKo7xwe
Some poked fun at Green Bay’s awkward quarterback dynamic in Rodgers’s final years.
Jordan Love cleaning out Aaron Rodgers Packers locker pic.twitter.com/dwMo1iX5lt
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 24, 2023
Others chuckled at the Jets’ similarly strange dynamic after quarterback Zach Wilson’s disastrous 2022 season.
Zach Wilson showing up to the Jets facility tomorrow morning pic.twitter.com/B1Fz9UD6xl
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) April 24, 2023
Zach Wilson at Aaron Rodgers welcome party pic.twitter.com/81ziyBTj5H
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) April 24, 2023
Along those lines, some had fun tying in the Rodgers trade with a busy Monday news cycle.
Zach Wilson, Don Lemon, and Tucker Carlson at the unemployment office: pic.twitter.com/8k7hrGqBSC
— Unmistakable Latin Flavor (@PBSImpulse9) April 24, 2023
Others were quick to point out the hilarious way in which New York’s players rolled out the red carpet for their new teammate.
RB Breece Hall has a new profile pic after the Jets acquired 4x MVP Aaron Rodgers from the Packers.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 24, 2023
It is A-Rod from his days at Cal 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wZVTANdC7t
Still others focused on how well the Packers fared in a trade poised to change the balance of power in the NFL.
So let me get this straight: the Packers get
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) April 24, 2023
A first-round pick swap in 2023
A high second-round pick in 2023
A likely first-round pick in 2024 (at worst a second)
A $60 million financial obligation taken off their hands
For
A player that was never going to play for them again.
