Aaron Rodgers has finally revealed his plans for the 2023 season, and the star quarterback will be playing football. As many expected, he will be doing so for a team other than the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday that his intention is to play for the New York Jets. The 39-year-old said he made that decision on Friday, but the “compensation that the Packers are trying to get” has been holding things up.
“I made it clear my intention was to play and to play for the New York Jets, and I haven’t been holding anything up,” Rodgers said. “It’s the compensation that the Packers are trying to get.”
In confirming that he wants to play for the Jets, Rodgers also criticized the Packers for the way they have handled the situation. He said general manager Brian Gutekunst and the team’s front office told him they wanted him back before he went on his four-day isolation retreat last month. Rodgers said something changed during his retreat.
“I heard from people around the league that there was some shopping going on and they were interested in moving me,” Rodgers said. “It was clear to me at that point that although the Packers were going to say the right thing publicly, they were ready to move on. I don’t know if it was, ‘We need to make a decision because he hasn’t made a decision yet.’ … I wish in the beginning of the offseason that had been the conversation.
“The Packers want to move on. They’ve let me know that in so many words. They’ve let other people know that in direct words.”
Rodgers insisted there are no hard feelings toward Green Bay’s front office. He also would not say that he would have returned to the Packers if they wanted him back, as he felt throughout the season that they were ready to move forward with Jordan Love.
The Packers and Jets will now have to work out a trade for Rodgers, and the expectation is that will happen eventually. Rodgers has given New York a wish list that they have already begun working on, so they must be confident he will be their quarterback soon enough.
