Aaron Rodgers wants to leave the Packers for the New York Jets, and the feeling in Green Bay is apparently mutual.
Rodgers, 39, revealed the bomb in Pat McAfee Podcast on Wednesday after weeks of rumors about his impending move to the Jets.
“My intention is to play for the New York Jets,” Rodgers told McAfee, confirming reports that he had applied to move to the Jets rather than return to the Packers or retire after 18 NFL seasons.
New York and Green Bay have yet to come to an agreement that satisfies both teams, and according to Rodgers, that process is being hampered by trade demands from the Packers.
“I haven’t been holding anything back right now,” Rodgers said. “It’s been a trade-off that the Packers are trying to get for me, and kind of on their heels.”
Aaron Rodgers discussed his immediate future on former NFL punter Pat McAfee’s podcast, co-hosted by his former Packers teammate AJ Hawk (right)
Rodgers spoke with McAfee for the first time since his four-day retirement in the dark, where he was expected to contemplate his future in the NFL.
According to what he told McAfee, Rodgers entered the semi-subterranean house with the intention of retiring.
“At this point, I have to admit that I retired 90 percent retiring and 10 percent playing,” Rodgers said. That’s where my mind was. My mind was: “I’m tired of this.” I had not returned to my training yet and I thought that this was the best thing for me.
Rodgers would spend one of his days in Oregon focused on retirement and the next thinking about returning to the NFL for another season, he explained.
When he resurfaced after going days without his cell phone, Rodgers learned that the Packers were inclined to move it. He said the club had previously told him “the door is wide open” if he wanted to return to Green Bay, but Rodgers learned that was no longer the case after his retirement in the dark.
“It was clear to me at that point that even though the Packers were going to say the right thing publicly, they were ready to move on,” Rodgers said. “I don’t know what changed that or what moved that, or if they just said, ‘We have to make a decision here because he hasn’t made a decision yet.'”
Rodgers stressed that he doesn’t feel like a victim, but regrets the Packers didn’t express it to him after the Packers ended their disappointing 8-9 season in January.
The Jets’ social media staff was clearly listening to Rodgers’ interview on The Pat McAfee Show.
As for his legacy in Green Bay, Rodgers told McAfee that he is “the greatest player in franchise history,” repeatedly mentioning how grateful he was to play for the Packers, for whom he won his only Super Bowl.
“I love Green Bay,” Rodgers said. “He’s always going to be home.”
The Rodger-Jets speculation has been percolating for weeks, and has only intensified since former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback David Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the New Orleans Saints at beginning of this month.
Without Carr as an option, the Jets seemingly turned all their attention to the four-time MVP.
New York recently sent a contingent to California to meet with Rodgers, including owner Woody Johnson, head coach Robert Saleh, general manager Joe Douglas and newly hired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, a close friend and former co-worker of the MVP. of four volumes. .
After the conference, ESPN reported that Johnson was “excited” about the prospect of adding Rodgers, and many of the team’s personnel soon followed suit.
Adam Schefter confirmed Rodgers’ claim that he asked NFL insiders to ‘lose my number’
Jets owner Woody Johnson (right), general manager Joe Douglas (left), head coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett flew to California to meet with Rodgers.
Robert Saleh (pictured) could move from Zach Wilson to Aaron Rodgers under center
Many Jets players reached out to Rodgers on social media in an attempt to convince him to come to New York, the most notable of which was star cornerback Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner.
New York then restructured the contracts of left guard Laken Tomlinson, cornerback DJ Reed and tight end Tyler Conklin, saving about $20 million in cap space, which is a necessity given Rodgers’ existing contract and other signings. potentials the Jets could have planned for.
Rodgers has $108.8 million left on his current contract, which runs through 2026, though that season and 2025 are considered “fictional” years that are only on the books for salary cap purposes. His contract is fully guaranteed for $59.5 million this season, most of which comes in the form of a bonus before the start of the regular season, according to ESPN.
But the Jets wouldn’t necessarily be suffering for cap space if they acquired him, because Rodgers’ bonus was prorated over the last three years of the contract. In all, he would have $15.8 million against his team’s salary cap in 2023 and $32.5 million for 2024, according to ESPN.
Nathaniel Hackett (left), the Jets’ new offensive coordinator, previously worked with Rodgers in Green Bay
Meanwhile, the Packers would still have $40.3 million of Rodgers’ salary for 2023 on their books should they trade him. That’s a whopping 18 percent of the NFL’s $224.8 million salary cap for this year.
Aside from Rodgers, the Jets also seem to be making room for some of their favorite teammates.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported that Rodgers gave the Jets a list of four receivers he would like to see in New York: wide receivers Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard and Odell Beckham Jr, as well as tight end Marcedes Lewis.
However, Rodgers pushed back on that report on Wednesday, calling the ESPN report “ridiculous.” Instead, Rodgers told McAfee that he simply gave “commendable” reports about some of his former Jets teammates.
Regardless, multiple outlets are reporting an impending deal between Lazard, a former Rodgers teammate on the Packers, and the Jets, who have agreed to pay the 27-year-old receiver $44 million over the next four years with $22 million guaranteed.
Multiple outlets are reporting an impending deal between Allen Lazard (pictured), a former Packers teammate of Rodgers, and the Jets, who have agreed to pay the 27-year-old receiver $44 million over the next four years with $22 million guaranteed.
The Jets are coming off a 7-10 season, in which they boasted fifth-ranked defense, as well as Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year at receiver Garrett Wilson and Gardner.
The areas of greatest concern for Saleh’s team were along the offensive line and at quarterback, where Zach Wilson finished 34th in the NFL with a dismal 72.8 quarterback rating.
Wilson likely isn’t going anywhere, but he will have a chance to learn from Rodgers in the event of a trade.
And if there is a deal for Rodgers, the Jets could have their first steady presence under center since Chad Pennington or even Ken O’Brien.
Rodgers is unlikely to have an extended tenure in New York after 18 NFL seasons, but for a team that has struggled to find quarterbacks, it represents the Jets’ best chance of returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since. 1969.
In February, Rodgers spent four days at Sky Cave Retreats in Ashland, Oregon, in a 300-square-foot semi-subterranean cabin, where he was expected to meditate and reflect on himself in the dark.
After coming out of retirement, Rodgers, who has previously spoken about spirituality and openly discussed his use of ayahuasca, admitted that the test proved difficult at times as he struggled with “insecurities and fear.”
“I really had to sit down with them and go to the root of who they are and go back to childhood or college or the early days of the NFL and work through those moments,” Rodgers told the Aubrey Marcus Podcast on March 1.
“After five or six hours of going through it, I found a really nice sweetness and comfort with what I was sitting on that day and what retirement would be like and what would best nourish my soul,” he said.
“Beautiful ending to that, but also a lot of difficult contemplation for that insecurity and fear about what happens when you turn off the lights in your race.”
It is believed that he used his time in retirement, in part, to ponder his future in the NFL. Rodgers told Marcus that his decision would ultimately come from his love of the game, rather than any other reason.
“My life and my happiness are directly connected to how I feel about soccer and it gave me such a deep calm about how I feel about the decision,” Rodgers said.
‘I ended those two days with deep love, admiration and blessings in a life removed from meeting all the needs I have and spending time with the people I love. And also come back and play. Not playing out of spite or to prove something to someone or for money, but playing because I fell in love with this game when I was 6 years old. And I’m happy with my guys and my people when I’m out there.’
