After weeks of uncertainty, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has finally stated his intentions. “My intention is to keep playing and playing for the New York Jets,” said the star quarterback, still under contract with the Green Bay Packers.
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Rodgers, who had opted for silence in recent weeks as rumors increasingly sent him to New York, broke his silence during a presence that drew more than 470,000 onlookers live at the Pat McAfee Show.
He mentioned that at the moment, all that prevented him from making the jump to the Jets was the absence of an agreement between his future organization and his old one on the basis of a trade.
“I’m not the one slowing things down so far. It’s the Packers and the compensation they seek in return. The thing is, right now, I’m still under contract with the Packers,” he said.
no bitterness
The quarterback, who won the Super Bowl in 2011 and was named regular season MVP four times, has revealed he made the decision to return to the game shortly after his closed retirement of four days in the dark.
He said that when he left in isolation, he had decided “90%” that he was going to opt for retirement.
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“Leaving there, I found the network and I quickly understood that there had been a change of attitude of the organization towards me. I don’t know exactly what changed, but I understood that the Packers wanted to move on.
“I got drafted by the Packers, I’ve always loved Green Bay and that organization, but the thing is, that team decided to go in a different direction. And now, me too,” explained the 39-year-old veteran.
Rodgers was drafted by the Packers in 2005 and established himself as a starter in 2008. Since then, he has guided the team to the playoffs nine times. If he said he was saddened by the outcome, he assured that he felt no bitterness.
“There are no casualties here. I just wish that after the season, the organization had a conversation with me to tell me that the time had come to move on. I would have just said: thank you very much. I have no resentment against the Packers. Green Bay will always be home to me.”
The wish list
In the last few hours, reports surfaced that Rodgers had submitted a wish list to Jets general staff.
He reportedly expressed a desire for his future new team to hire receivers he likes like Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis and Odell Beckham.
Unsurprisingly, Rodgers vehemently denied the whole thing.
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“It’s so ridiculous,” he ranted. If you think I told the Jets to sign this or that player, that’s not the reality. Did I tell them about some players I liked? Of course. Did I make requests? It’s so stupid to think I would do that.”
“Objectively, several teams would like to bet on a guy like Allen Lazard. Anyone with a brain would ask me what kind of person he is and I’d say he’s fantastic, like I would say Cobb or Lewis. And who wouldn’t want Odell Beckham on their team?
A first meeting
Rodgers met with Jets management and said the four-hour chat was “good and relaxed,” while mentioning that he was looking forward to reconnecting with his former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, “the one of the most influential coaches in my life.”
The Jets and the Packers will therefore try to agree on the basis of a transaction in the days to come.
