National Football League

Aaron Rodgers: 'It is my intention to play for the New York Jets'

Updated Mar. 15, 2023 2:24 p.m. ET

Aaron Rodgers has made it clear what he wants his next chapter to be.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback said on the Pat McAfee show that it's been his "intention" to play for the New York Jets, saying that he made that decision last Friday. However, he noted that the details of a trade still have to be hammered out.

Rodgers revealed in his interview that he was "90 percent" sure that he was going to retire when he began his five-day darkness retreat in February. He also claimed the Packers told him to take his time to make a decision prior to the retreat.

But Rodgers said he changed his mind after the retreat as he heard that the Packers were shopping him on the trade market.

Rodgers said that he "has nothing but love" for the Packers as it appears that his 15-year tenure as the starting quarterback is over, but added that it's "clear" they want to move on from him.

Rodgers brought up the Packers' decision to select Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft several times in his interview with McAfee, saying that the "writing was on the wall" that his time in Green Bay was coming to an end.

Rodgers did, however, state his appreciation for Love and the rest of the players on the Packers roster.

"Jordan is going to be a great player, he's a great kid, they got a good young team," Rodgers said.

Rodgers mentioned that he thinks other teams were interested in acquiring him, hinting that there was "one particular guy" that he wanted to reunite with. When McAfee speculated that he was speaking about Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders, Rodgers didn't comment.

The Athletic reported that the Raiders checked in with the Packers on Rodgers though they weren't able to make a trade come together, leading Las Vegas to agree to a deal with Jimmy Garoppolo earlier this week.

Rodgers mentioned he had a particular interest in the Jets because of their recent hiring of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who coached Rodgers for three seasons in Green Bay.

"There are a lot of reasons why the Jets are attractive," Rodgers said. "But there's one coach there who means as much to me as any coach ever has, and he happens to be the offensive coordinator there."

However, Rodgers said it'd be a "disservice" to the Jets and Hackett to say that they hired the former Denver Broncos coach just to lure him in. He called the conversation he had with Jets owner Woody Johnson "relaxed." Rodgers met with Johnson, along with head coach Robert Saleh, general manager Joe Douglas and Hackett at his house in California for four hours earlier in March.

Rodgers denied the report that he made a demand for the Jets to add specific players to their roster in order for him to go to New York.

"That's so ridiculous," Rodgers said of the report, adding, "That's not the reality. It's so stupid to think I would do that."

Rodgers mentioned though that he was asked about specific players during his meeting with the Jets. Rodgers said that Allen Lazard, who New York reportedly agreed to terms with on a four-year deal on Tuesday, is a player that many teams should be interested in and Odell Beckham Jr., who was also on Rodgers' reported wish list, is a player that teams would be hard-pressed to pass up on.

Randall Cobb and Marcedes Lewis were the other two players reported to be on Rodgers' list.

Rodgers, 39, totaled 3,695 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 91.1 passer rating this past season, completing 64.6% of his passes last season. Green Bay missed the playoffs.

Last offseason, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150.8 million deal with the Packers.

Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay in the 2010 NFL season and was voted the game's MVP. He is a four-time regular-season MVP.

Could an Aaron Rodgers trade be bad for Jets?

The New York Jets have reportedly met with Aaron Rodgers ahead of free agency next week. There is also reported 'optimism' in the Jets organization on a potential trade. But would it be the right move? Jason McIntyre explains why Rodgers to the Big Apple is not the right call — but adding Lamar Jackson is.

This is a developing story.

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