FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Allen Lazard was confident Aaron Rodgers would join him with the New York Jets.
Wide receiver and quarterback, buddies reunited in the Big Apple after a few years together in Green Bay.
And then some uneasiness set in — for Lazard and Jets fans — as they all waited for a deal to be completed in April.
“There was probably like an eight-hour period of time where I’m like, ‘What the (expletive), bro?’” a smiling Lazard said Thursday, drawing laughs from reporters. “And he was like, ‘It’s going to happen.' And I was like, ‘All right.’”
After weeks of speculation and waiting, Rodgers was traded to the Jets just before the NFL draft. And now he and Lazard, a free agent signing by New York in March, are working on the field together again and trying to help lift a franchise back to respectability.
“I probably said I was coming to New York,” a smiling Rodgers said when asked if he recalled that conversation with Lazard. “So I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
It all makes for a good story and a few laughs in the next chapter of Rodgers' illustrious playing career.
He spent his first 18 NFL seasons in Green Bay, winning a Super Bowl and four league MVP awards along the way.
Now he's playing for a franchise that has made it to the NFL's biggest game just once, and that was back when Joe Namath led the Jets to a stunning win over the Baltimore Colts in 1969.
Rodgers recognizes the extra attention now placed on a team that has the league's longest playoff drought at 12 years. After his first training camp practice with the Jets, he's pacing himself amid all the hype.
“Everything is different,” Rodgers said. “Nineteen years in, there’s been a lot of training camps — all of them at 1265 Lombardi. Showing up at 1 Jets Drive was a little different.”
There are plenty of more reporters and cameras around this summer, especially with “Hard Knocks” featuring the Jets this year.
“Yeah, it’s spectacular,” Rodgers said. “I mean, that’s what you want. You want to be a part of a place that has high expectations. And there’s a lot of positivity around here, which I think is a good thing.”
Rodgers said when he joined the Jets he came to New York to win and finally give that “lonely” — as he described it — Super Bowl trophy a companion. His teammates have followed suit, with several saying that's the goal every year and they shouldn't be afraid to let everyone know it.
"I’m not going to beat around the bush, man: We want to win the Super Bowl,” wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “You don’t make the moves like we did unless you want to get there. You know that's the mindset.”
Rodgers knows getting there is quite the arduous process, though, and it all starts in training camp.
That's why after a somewhat overall sloppy first practice by the team, the quarterback wasn't too anxious.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot over the years,” Rodgers said, attributing that to his plant medicine journeys and a more positive perspective. “I think it’s always important to have patience in shorts and helmets, so patience the first few days of camp. Sometimes the patience can wear thin if it’s repeat mistakes, but we’re just building this thing right now. We want to build the right way.
“And, yeah, I would say maybe earlier in my career, I was a little more easily angered, and I feel like I’m a little less triggered as I’ve gotten older.”
He has taken to the role of teacher on the field, always willing to share observations and suggestions with teammates.
"He’s a coach that can still play football,” coach Robert Saleh said.
Lazard, who played five seasons with Rodgers in Green Bay, has noticed a difference in how the quarterback is going about things in New York while building a rapport with new teammates.
“He’s taking his time,” Lazard said. "I’m seeing it. I’m seeing how much he cares for those guys and how much he really just wants to put the icing on the cake as far as his career.”
The 39-year-old Rodgers has said his tenure with the Jets isn't a one season and done situation in his mind. And stepping on the field and practicing with them has only solidified that for him.
“I love being around the young energy, that excitement,” Rodgers said. “There’s a great feel to this team of guys who are young and super talented on their first contract. ... When you have so many great players on rookie deals, it’s pretty exciting knowing you can do something, you've got a good window.
"You know it’s not just a one-year thing where you can be competitive, which is fun.”
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