Aaron Rodgers has explained that why he wants to join the New York Jets and traded away from the Green Bay Packers.
This NFL off-season has been somewhat of a saga with multiple reports suggesting that Rodgers would be leaving the Packers after a difficult season in the 2022 campaign. After the year, Rodgers walked off the field with his long-term teammate Randall Cobb, with some believing it to be his last ever game for the Packers, and potentially in the NFL.
Rodgers himself has now admitted that he believed that would be the case. Rodgers went on a darkness retreat in south Oregon in February for four nights. When he came out, he believed the Packers intentions had changed, and that they wanted to start Jordan Love.
And speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said: "I've got to admit I went into the darkness 90 per cent retiring, 10 per cent playing, my mind was I am tired of this. I thought that's what was best for me."
"Before I went in, I was told that the Packers wanted me to come back and retire a Packer. When I came out of the darkness, something changed. I had no WiFi on my 'hippie mountain', I received texts that there had been a shift and I had heard from multiple people that there were some shopping going on. Then I had come to the realisation that the Packers want to move on, they have made that clear in so many words."
Rodgers then had to decide what he wanted to do with this career - whether he would play elsewhere or retire. Talks between the Packers and other team happened quickly, with the Jets being the team at the forefront, and asked Rodgers if he'd be interested to join the New York team.
Rodgers said: "The Packers decided to let the Jets talk to me about a deal and we had a nice conversation and I told them I am not ready to make a decision about anything. I told them that I needed to see if that drive is still there... if my body is still there. I made the decision that it was. And I made it clear I wanted to play and play for the New York Jets".
When asked if other teams were in the mix, Rodgers indicated that he would have been interested in joining the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Jets were the main landing spot.
He said: "There were other teams interested, there was one particular teammate who I would have loved to play with again. That being said, I was leaning towards retirement and that's why I walked off with Randall Cobb at Lambeau (in reference to his last Packers game). One coach who means a lot to me happens to be the coordinator with the Jets (Nathaniel Hackett, the Packers former offensive coordinatior).
