Green Bay Packers superstar, once-in-a-generation quarterback, Hall of Fame lock, Jeopardy! guest host, darkness retreater, and noted researcher Aaron Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday afternoon to reveal that he wants to continue to play football, and that he would like to play football for the New York Jets.
“Because I still have that fire and I want to play, and I would like to play in New York, it’s just a matter of, you know, getting that done at this point,” Rodgers said.
Nothing is set in stone for Rodgers’ desired move to New York—or for what the Jets would need to offer the Packers to acquire Rodgers in a trade—though the QB made it clear he won’t be continuing in Green Bay.
“I think since Friday, I made it clear that my intention was to play, and my intention was to play for the New York Jets,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t been holding anything up at this point. It’s been compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me, and kind of digging their heels in.”
Rodgers continued: “I think it is interesting at this point to step back and look at the whole picture. You know, my side: love and appreciation, gratitude for everything that Green Bay has done for me. Love, so much love and gratitude, and just heart open for the Packers fans and what it meant to be their quarterback. The reality of the situation, you know, like, it is what it is. The Packers would like to move on. They’ve let me know that in so many words. They let other people know that in direct words.”
Later in the interview, Rodgers reiterated that the Packers organization was ready to move on without him.
“They want to move on,” he said. “They don’t want me to come back, and that’s fine. They’re ready to move on with Jordan [Love]. That’s awesome. Jordan is going to be a great player. He’s a fucking great kid. He had a really good year this year. He’s got a bright future in front of him. They’ve got a good young team. I got so many great friends on that team that I’m still going to be great friends with. But the fact of the matter is, you’ve got an aging face of the franchise for the last 15 years that it’s time to do right by.”
Rodgers said that prior to his much-publicized February “darkness retreat,” the Packers had offered him time to decide whether he would play another season for the team or retire. Rodgers said he was 90% sure he would retire. But, when he “came out of the darkness, something changed.”
“I realized that there’d been a little bit of a shift,” Rodgers said. “I heard from multiple people that I trust around the league, players mostly, that there was some shopping going on, that [the Packers] were interested in actually moving me.”
Later in the interview, Rodgers doubled down on his love and appreciation for Packers fans.
“I don’t have any malice towards any of those people,” he said. “Our fans are so passionate in Green Bay. There’s a 50-year waiting list for tickets and they pack that place every single year. They live and die with the Packers, and there’s nothing like it across the league. I’m just really, really thankful I got to be the starting quarterback of the Packers for 15 years. I got to be in an organization for 18 years. Eighteen years, that’s a teenager, you know, that’s becoming an adult. And that’s what I did there, and it was because of the people I met there and the places I went and the times that I had.
“I love you, Green Bay. Thank you,” Rodgers continued. “I’m as sad as some of you are, but, you know, we’ll meet again.”
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