Trade talks between the New York Jets, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers’ current team the Green Bay Packers may be getting serious.
According to Rob Demovsky and Dan Graziano of ESPN, a contingent of Jets officials have flown out to visit Rodgers in person on Tuesday to continue talks that began the day before.
The only way Rodgers and the Jets could be speaking is if the Packers gave their permission, which is required since Rodgers is still under contract with Green Bay.
ESPN reported that the contingent of Jets officials included team owner Woody Johnson, general manager Joe Douglas, head coach Robert Saleh, and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. This may or may not be a picture of them on their way to the meeting.
Of the people reportedly flying out to visit Rodgers, the most important might be Hackett. He worked with Rodgers from 2019-2021 when he was Green Bay’s offensive coordinator. Since Rodgers likes to control his offense and have the flexibility to call plays on the fly, that relationship might be the key to the Jets landing Rodgers.
While the Jets did recently meet with quarterback Derek Carr (who signed with the New Orleans Saints last week), they appear to have their heart set on Rodgers as the solution to their longstanding quarterback problems (and possibly the larger problem of the team not being good for the last decade-plus). If they want to end their Super Bowl drought (they haven’t won since 1968, which was also the last time they even made it to a Super Bowl), going after Rodgers is certainly one way to do it.