Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday he intends to play for the New York Jets in 2023 after 18 seasons in Green Bay and the four-time NFL MVP quarterback is waiting for the Packers to trade him.
The 39-year-old Rodgers, speaking during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and Sirius XM, said he believes the Packers want to move on and make 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love their starting quarterback.
“At this point, as I sit here, I think since Friday I’ve 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 the Packers are trying to get for me, kind of digging their heels in.”
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy has acknowledged the team granted the Jets permission to talk to Rodgers, the face of the franchise since Hall of Famer Brett Favre was traded to the Jets in 2008. The Jets sent a contingent that reportedly included owner Woody Johnson, coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas to Rodgers’ home in Southern California last week.
Rodgers expressed his appreciation for his 18 seasons in Green Bay but added that it's time for the Packers “to do the right thing.”
“I have nothing but love in my heart for every Packer fan and everybody who works in the organization,” Rodgers said. “My life is better because of my time in Green Bay. But we’ve just got to look at the reality. They want to move on. They don’t want me to come back and that’s fine. They're ready to move on with Jordan. That’s awesome. Jordan's going to be a great player.”
The Packers declined to comment on Rodgers' remarks, which follow days of speculation that his time in Green Bay might be done.
Murphy spoke of Rodgers in the past tense while discussing the quarterback’s future with Green Bay TV station WBAY last week.
“Very few players play for only one team,” Murphy told WBAY. "Obviously Brett had a great career. Aaron had a great career here. Regardless of what happens, Aaron will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’ll be in our Hall of Fame. We’ll bring him back, retire his number. This is just one of the things that we go through as a team. We want to try to achieve something that’s good for both Aaron and us.”
In a separate interview that aired Friday during a broadcast of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association girls basketball championships on Green Bay TV station WCWF, Murphy said he would honor a trade request if Rodgers made one.
“It’s trying to find what he wants and what we want, and hopefully we can find a win-win situation," Murphy said.
Rodgers had said at the end of the 2022 season that he would need time to decide whether to return to the Packers, request a trade or retire. He said Wednesday he had discussions with Packers officials regarding his future shortly after the team wrapped up a 8-9 season that ended a string of three straight NFC North titles.
“Everything that I was told in the week that I was in Green Bay was: ‘Take as long as you want and we want you to retire a Packer. If you want to come back and play, obviously the door is wide open,’” Rodgers said. “That was the information I was going on."
As he pondered his future, Rodgers spent multiple days last month on a isolation retreat in Oregon, where he said he stayed alone in a room in total darkness.
Rodgers said he was 90% leaning toward retirement at the time of the retreat. When he was done with it, he said, he noticed a difference in the Packers' approach toward his future with the franchise.
