Packers GM Gutekunst Says 'I Have So Much Respect for' Aaron Rodgers After Jets Trade

The Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers had something of a public breakup this offseason, but general manager Brian Gutekunst is not showing any ill will toward the legendary quarterback after trading him to the New York Jets.

"I have so much respect for Aaron, not only the person but the player that he is," Gutekunst said, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. "There's so much gratitude in what he's done for this organization."

There has been plenty of speculation about whether Rodgers' time with the Packers would end going back multiple offseasons. That reached a tipping point in March when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and said he planned on playing for the Jets this season.

Those public comments impacted the leverage on both sides, and it took more than a month to complete the trade.

Yet ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that the Jets received Rodgers, the No. 15 pick in this year's draft and a 2023 fifth-rounder in exchange for the No. 13 pick this year, a second-rounder this year and a sixth-rounder this year, plus a conditional 2024 second-rounder that will be a first-rounder if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of New York's snaps this season.

"I know this: He'll always be a Packer," Gutekunst continued. "He'll be one of the best who have ever done it around here. I have a lot of respect how he went about it and he'll be missed. There's no doubt about it. Players like that don't come around very often, but at the same time, we're really excited where we're headed and what we're moving to do and wish him nothing but the best."

Green Bay will now turn to Jordan Love under center, while New York will embrace Super Bowl expectations with its new signal-caller in place.

But Rodgers will surely have his Packers number retired one day and, barring an incredible late-career run with the Jets, be best remembered for all his success with the team that drafted him back in 2005.