The Aaron Rodgers trade appeared to be a risky proposition for the New York Jets with the QB's uncertain future, but he offered an intriguing update recently.
One of the big talking points when the New York Jets first began trade discussions centered around longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was how much longer the signal-caller would continue to play. Rodgers infamously had mulled retirement and trades previously with Green Bay, so banking on the 39-year-old to keep playing indeed seemed risky.
Some insiders and analysts suggested that the Jets should try and offer themselves protection in that case, specifically mentioning a trade package with a valuable pick that would only move to the Packers if Rodgers played a certain percentage of snaps in the 2024 season. In the end, that didn't happen.
But now it seems like Rodgers is intent on rewarding the Jets for their faith in him.
During an interview with ESPN 98.7 in New York, Rodgers addressed his future with Gang Green in a non-definitive but certainly promising manner, via CBS Sports:
"I'm not a big cliche guy," Rodgers said. "Most people would say 'I'm taking this one day at a time or one year at a time,' but the Jets gave up a lot for me, so to play just one year would be, I think, a disservice, but if that one year turns out to be a magical year, who knows?"
NFL Rumors: Aaron Rodgers insinuates playing more than one year for Jets
Leave it to Rodgers to deem it necessary to offer that cryptic qualifier at the end, apparently implying that a Super Bowl win might change his future plans. But all told, the plan does seem to be for the quarterback to spend multiple years in New York.
That's a massive feather in the cap for the Jets. Trading for Rodgers in the first place was necessitated by the shortcomings of former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson at the position, which led to a roster ready to win now needing a substantial upgrade at the helm of the offense. They got that, but whether it was just for the 2023 season or not remained to be seen.
Based on these comments, it is going to be longer than that with Rodgers leading the Jets offense. And with the cast around the four-time MVP, that should yield substantial results for a New York team whose fans have been torturously missing out on seeing such success.
