March 15, 2023. The day it effectively all began. The day Aaron Rodgers joined his pal Pat McAfee to share his intention to play for the New York Jets for the 2023 season.
“…I’ve made it clear that my intention was to play and my intention is to play for the New York Jets,” Rodgers said one year ago today. Rodgers had recently returned from his darkness retreat, a time in which he said he was “90 percent retired” before beginning the retreat.
About a month later, on April 24, the Jets and Packers finally came to terms on an agreement that would send the four-time NFL MVP to New York. The teams swapped picks in the first round — the Packers selected Iowa edge Lukas Van Ness at No. 13, the Jets selected Iowa State edge Will McDonald at No. 15 — and the Packers also received picks 42 and 207 in 2023 while the Jets received No. 170.
The Jets also sent a conditional second-round pick in 2024 to the Packers. Since Rodgers did not play 65 percent of the offensive snaps, the pick remains a second-round pick instead of a first-round pick. That ended up being pick No. 41.
Needless to say, it has been a roller coaster since Rodgers arrived in New York. Thighs started out fine as Rodgers was participating in offseason workouts, something he hadn’t done in years in Green Bay. But then Week 1 happened.
Four plays into the regular season, Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets never recovered from losing Rodgers and finished with another 7-10 season. All the while, Rodgers would continue to appear on McAfee’s show and acted as a de facto coach, being on the headsets during games.
While Rodgers tried to make a comeback late in the season, the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention after their Week 15 loss to the Miami Dolphins, ending any chance of Rodgers playing again in 2023.
He’ll play again in 2024, but this offseason has been anything but quiet. The most recent controversy surrounding Rodgers is his reported false conspiracy theories surrounding the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. On top of that, Rodgers may be balancing both playing quarterback and campaigning as Robert Kennedy Jr’s running mate this election season.
Needless to say, it’s been an eventful year since Aaron Rodgers wanted to come to New York.
