National Football League

Aaron Rodgers isn't a Jet yet. 4 weeks since he said he wanted to be, what's new?

Updated Apr. 12, 2023 2:07 p.m. ET

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Martin Rogers

FOX Sports Insider

A lot can happen in four weeks or less.

In four weeks, the entire NCAA Tournament can play out, from First Four to Final Four, and still leave spare change for the Masters.

It is long enough to get in shape — or at least significantly better shape than you were before — if your significant other gives you an assist by not leaving Girl Scout cookies laying around.

In the movie "28 Days Later," that precise amount of time was long enough for a killer virus to spread and cause society to break down altogether.

Four weeks is sufficient time for a meet-cute, a blossoming romance, a breakup and maybe even a careless rebound, for those who like to do their love life in the fast lane.

And, in Aaron Rodgers World, where time can stand still but is now moving at, ahem, Jet speed, four weeks is long enough for nothing to happen, right at the time when it felt like something was about to.

Yes, it really was nigh-on a full page of your wall calendar (do people still have those?) ago when Rodgers Zoomed himself into Pat McAfee's studio and gave word of his intention to play for the New York Jets.

It was an announcement, an explanation, a parting shot at the Green Bay Packers and a new chapter all wrapped into one, supposedly the beginning of a new journey for a man who likes journey of all types: spiritual, physical, emotional and even those where he can't see because it's too darn dark.

Then, nothing.

No agreement, no unveiling, no official photos of Rodgers in Gotham green, despite online mockups that if we're being honest, look like the real thing.

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No leeway given by either the Packers or the Jets, or not enough to get this thing over the line, even when it feels like Rodgers is part of the New York sports scene already.

Last week, the 39-year-old worked out with wide receiver Allen Lazard, who landed a free-agent package to become a Packer-turned-Jet, which is the exact description everyone assumed we'd have officially assigned to Rodgers well before now.

But no, not yet, despite New York GM Joe Douglas insisting on local radio last week that Rodgers is "going to be here."

The impasse, obviously, revolves around a difference in what the Jets think it is reasonable to give up to get their man, compared with how much the Packers think they can squeeze out of the situation. A first-round draft pick — reports suggest the Packers would like one in return for the QB, regardless of whether they'll succeed in that effort,  and the Jets don't want to give one up — is a sticking point that seems to make sense. 

The Jets currently hold the 13th pick in the first round, as well as back-to-back second-round selections at 42 and 43 overall. They also hold fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round selections.

Green Bay might be emboldened to stand firm a while longer. After Rodgers publicly said where he wants to be, Jets fans are besides themselves looking forward to a star quarterback for the first time in a lot longer than 28 days. That pressure may test the Jets' patience.

On the flip side, the Jets may still feel that because Rodgers stated he would have retired if he could not complete his desired move, the implied leverage is theirs.

Before the Packers' front office embarked upon an annual goodwill tour around the state of Wisconsin, the message was clear: don't expect an answer just yet. When, then?

Before the draft, coming at the end of this month, would loom as a neat cutoff, but this has now spun on for so long that both teams look set on playing hardball and seeing if the other will blink. If they both feel they have the upper hand, hmm, that's where things could drag out for an even more awkward period of time.

Already, since the McAfee appearance, Major League Baseball's Opening Day came and went, the Lakers went from no-hopers into a dangerous-looking playoff outfit, UConn proved unstoppable and Jon Rahm found himself wearing a new item of clothing with a famous green hue.

Presumably, Rodgers will also find himself in a new greenish uniform at some point, when the relevant parties stop trying to call each other's bluff and take the negotiating process up a notch.

For now, there is nothing except the waiting game, and the ever-present limbo. The tale of the Rodgers stalemate could now be titled "28 Days And Counting" and it is a story without chapters. What's the latest? Breaking news: nothing happening.

Until it does.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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Martin Rogers