Aaron Rodgers has exited his darkness retreat, and apparently it agreed with him, as he now seems likely to hit some even darker places: East Rutherford and Florham Park, New Jersey. That's right: Rodgers may soon be quarterback of the New York Jets.
Rumors have been swirling; even the Wealth Turtle is weighing in. Actual humans are commenting, too. ESPN’s Dianna Russini is reporting Jets owner Woody Johnson had “an extensive in-person meeting with Rodgers” and that the team is optimistic it will acquire the longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback in a trade. They are working as if the deal will happen. Braxton Berrios was cut to free up cap space.
Rodgers has been the Packers' starting QB for 15 years. He was originally drafted out of Berkeley with the 24th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. He won a Super Bowl in the 2010 season. And he has remained solid since then: The Packers came into last season with Rodgers on a hot streak of three consecutive 13-3 seasons and two MVP awards. Things were great, even if he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID.
The 2022 season did not go as well. The Packers went 8-9 and missed the playoffs after losing to the Lions in the last game of the year. Young receivers had trouble with his complicated hand signals; he complained about teammates manifesting losses; he also complained about teammates on a former NFL punter’s friendly radio show. The Packers had already drafted a potential replacement, Jordan Love, in the first round of the 2020 draft. It seems like Rodgers could only hold him off for so long.
The only holdup, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt says, is that Johnson does not want to pay the full $59.5 million owed to Rodgers. So there is still a chance for all of this to fall apart. If Rodgers does sign with the Jets, I have one piece of advice for him, from a famous New Jersey resident: Acting is like scoring a touchdown.
