3 Instant Reactions to Aaron Rodgers Intending to Be Traded to Jets from Packers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday that he intends to play for the New York Jets, ending his 18-year tenure with the Pack.

The Packers and Jets still need to agree upon trade compensation, but it appears Rodgers is headed to New York.

The four-time NFL MVP and 10-time Pro Bowler completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns (12 interceptions) and 3,695 yards in 2022. He's one year removed from posting back-to-back MVP campaigns.

Rodgers is set to join a Jets team that started 7-4 but lost six straight games to fall out of the playoff picture.

New York had a bottom-five offense but a top-five defense. Adding Rodgers can certainly help them make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Here's a look at three reactions to Rodgers' stated intention to join the Jets.

---

Instant Improvement

The Jets have the talent on defense to maintain their top-five perch thanks to players such as Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams and C.J. Mosley.

New York has the talent on offense to improve but desperately needed a quarterback last season. Second-year signal-caller Zach Wilson simply did not get the job done, finishing last among all qualified passers in quarterback rating. He was benched on two different occasions and finished the season on the sidelines.

Rodgers had a down year in 2022 compared to his excellent 2020-2021 run, and there's cause for concern given that he'll turn 40 years old in December.

But the Jets will be a much better team in 2023 even if they have a middle-of-the-road quarterback calling the shots now. It's also possible Rodgers returns closer to his 2020 and 2021 form, which could make the team a strong AFC contender.

---

The Hottest Storyline in Football

For better or worse, Rodgers and the Jets should now enter the season as the NFL's No. 1 storyline given the union of the country's biggest media market and one of its top stars. There's a chance the team could even find itself on HBO's Hard Knocks series, strengthening the hype even more.

The Jets have been down this road before with another ex-Green Bay superstar in Brett Favre, who left the Packers after 16 seasons to join New York in 2008.

That one-and-done season ended with a late-year collapse, a playoff miss and the parting of ways with head coach Eric Mangini. But the Jets were must-see television with Favre running the show. There's no reason to expect anything different 15 years later.

The Jets already have some big, colorful personalities thanks to Gardner and Williams. Garrett Wilson is a budding star himself after a tremendous rookie year, and if Breece Hall returns to his old form after suffering a torn ACL, then he'll be one of the game's most electric backfield talents.

Adding Rodgers will turn the Jets into regulars on national television throughout the season.

---

AFC East (on Paper) Becomes the Group of Death

There's always a division in football that gets preseason notoriety for having the potential to house four good or great teams. The AFC West took that honor after Russell Wilson joined the Denver Broncos and Davante Adams linked up with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

This year will be the AFC East's turn after Rodgers joined the Jets.

The Miami Dolphins have one of the best offenses in football with head coach Mike McDaniel calling the shots and one of the best passing game trios in the league (quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wideouts Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill).

The Buffalo Bills have made the playoffs each of the last four years and were legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the past three thanks to perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen, star wideout Stefon Diggs and a very good defense.

The New England Patriots had a down year in 2022 at 8-9, but the addition of a legitimate offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien can only help after last year's offensive keys were handed to coaches with a defensive (Matt Patricia) and special teams (Joe Judge) background.

It's conceivable that every AFC East team stays in the playoff race into the final weeks of the season. At the very least, it's hard envisioning any of these squads completely bottoming out and holding down the cellar, barring injuries at key positions.