The Green Bay Packers have reportedly agreed to trade future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The agreement ends a long saga that saw the 39-year-old contemplate retirement or a return to Green Bay. Instead, he chose the Jets and the two sides came to an agreement Monday.
Rodgers said on March 15 he intended to play for the Jets in 2023 in an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and Sirius XM.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy acknowledged the team granted the Jets permission to talk to Rodgers. The Jets sent a contingent that reportedly included owner Woody Johnson, coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas to Rodgers’ home in Southern California in early March.
Rodgers expressed his appreciation for his 18 seasons in Green Bay throughout his appearance with McAfee, but said he felt it was time for the Packers “to do the right thing.” He said he believes the Packers want Jordan Love as their starting quarterback
The Jets lost their final six games while going 7-10 last season and haven’t reached the postseason since 2010 – the NFL’s longest playoff drought.
Their new offensive coordinator is former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who earned raves from Rodgers while coordinating Green Bay’s offence from 2019-21. Saleh and Johnson have both expressed their interest in adding a veteran quarterback to a roster that already features one of the league’s best defences.
The trade is a case of history repeating itself.
The Packers sent a 39-year-old Brett Favre to the Jets in 2008, a move that ushered in Rodgers’ arrival as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. Favre had won three MVPs with Green Bay during his Hall of Fame career.
Rodgers had backed up Favre for three seasons after the Packers selected him out of California with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. Love has backed up Rodgers for three seasons since the Packers traded up to take the former Utah State quarterback with the 26th overall pick in 2020.
Rodgers, who is no stranger to making headlines off the football field, was sure to have an off-season filled with uncertainty after the Packers stumbled to an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs. The four-time NFL MVP also had an uncharacteristically down year by his standards, with the 2022-23 season marking the lowest passer rating as a starter in his entire career.
Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns in 17 games for the Packers this past season, while also throwing 12 interceptions — his highest single-season total since 2008.
After leading the NFL in points per game during the 2020-21 season, putting up 31.5 points per contest, Rodgers and the Packers’ offence have seen a dip in production the past two seasons. Last year, they put up 21.8 points per game, good for 14th in the NFL.
Some of the dip in production can probably be linked to the departure of star receiver Davante Adams who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last off-season. After the Raiders released long-time quarterback Derek Carr, some speculated that a possible reunion between Rodgers and Adams with the Raiders. However, the Raiders instead agreed to sign free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year contract on Monday.
Rodgers, who won the Super Bowl with the Packers back in 2010, has a 147-75-1 record over his 15 years as a starter for Green Bay. He has 59,055 passing yards over his entire career, good for ninth on the NFL’s all-time list. His 475 career touchdown passes are the fifth most in league history and 33 behind long-time Packers quarterback Brett Frave for fourth.
With Rodgers out of the picture, the Packers will turn the reins over to Love, their first-round pick back in 2020.
The Utah product has thrown just 83 regular-season passes over two seasons with the Packers, completing 50 of them. Last season, Love came in for an injured Rodgers against the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles and kept the team in the game, going six-of-nine for 113 yards and a score.
— With files from The Associated Press.
