Why the Jets met with Aaron Rodgers

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The New York Jets flew out to California to meet with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It's the biggest development to date in the Packers-Rodgers saga and made a potential trade all the more real.

On ESPN's Get Up, NFL insider Adam Schefter explained the purpose of the trip.

"This is a situation where I think the Jets officials, other than Nathaniel Hackett, didn't know Aaron Rodgers, and he didn't know them," Schefter said. "So this was part of a get to know you session in part, also part for Aaron Rodgers to hear what the Jets organization is about.

Schefter added: "They need to explain to him exactly what he would be stepping into, what the personnel is like, how their philosophies are. And again, I think Aaron Rodgers still ultimately has to make the decision about whether or not he's going to play."

Then Schefter outlined Rodgers' options on the table, which are retire, request a trade to the Jets or return to the Packers. 

"I think the most likely options for our Rodgers at this time are that, number one, he decides he wants to play for the New York Jets, in which case he would go to the Green Bay Packers and say, I would like to be traded to the New York Jets," Schefter said.

"He still could retire. There was a school of thought this week, as recently as this week, that that was still a primary consideration on the table. So I'm sure part of yesterday's talks were explaining how it would be in New York so that Aaron Rodgers wouldn't retire.

"And of all the options that he's now considering, he always could go back to Green Bay."

But this is where the quarterback future of Green Bay got interesting.

"It's increasingly likely, and looking like Jordan Love is going to be the quarterback for the Packers in 2023," Schefter said.

Ultimately, Rodgers has a big decision on his hands.

"These are all factors that Aaron Rodgers has to sit down and mull and decide and then come to a decision about what he wants to do," Schefter said. "And once he knows that, then he can convey that to the Packers. He could talk to the Jets, He could basically work with the Jets to try to get a trade done.

"There's a lot that's going on there right now, and that's why the Jets flew out yesterday to sit down with Aaron Rodgers, to talk to him, to give him their side of the story."

Because Rodgers is still under contract with the Packers, the Jets needed the Packers’ permission to speak to the four-time NFL MVP. His contract status also means a trade would be required to facilitate a move to New York.

Rodgers signed an extension in March 2022 that gives him $150-plus million across three years. He would cost the Packers over $40 million in dead cap in 2023 if he were traded.

He has spent all 18 of his NFL seasons with the Packers, picking up 10 Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl XLV title to go along with his four regular season MVPs.

Rodgers would be a major acquisition for the QB-needy Jets. The team took Zach Wilson second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, and though general manager Joe Douglas said the organization still feels Wilson has a “very high ceiling,” it remains highly unlikely he gets the chance to prove it again as the QB1 in New York. 

The Jets reportedly were in the mix for Derek Carr, but the former Las Vegas Raiders signal caller ultimately decided to sign with the New Orleans Saints.

For the Packers, a Rodgers trade would give them more assets to build around Jordan Love. The 2020 first-rounder has made just one start in his NFL career, but GM Brian Gutekunst said he believes Love is “ready” to start.

This offseason saga has already included a darkness retreat for Rodgers. But with free agency on the horizon, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel just yet.

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