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It is official: Aaron Rodgers is now a Jet. The longtime Green Bay quarterback has been traded to New York for a bevy of draft picks in the biggest move of the 2023 offseason. But for one of his future teammates, this was a long time coming.
Shortly after the news of the trade was announced, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner posted a screenshot of a text conversation between himself and Rodgers last month, envisioning the two of them wearing the same jersey:
Gardner: (shows a cheesehead)
Rodgers: Lol. Why do you still have that?
Gardner: I envisioned this. I knew it was gonna be a chance you become a Jet I'm waiting for you to become a Jet so I can burn it & we can win a Superbowl together
Rodgers: Would be a pretty sick story wouldn't it?
This will not be the first time a Jet has fantasized about a Super Bowl victory for the team. Joe Namath famously did it ahead of Super Bowl III, and then the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts to legitimize the game. It remains to be seen if Rodgers and Gardner can fulfill the story they have envisioned.
Aaron Rodgers to Jets: How Sauce Gardner successfully recruited Packers QB to New York
In Week 6 of the 2022 season, the New York Jets upset the Green Bay Packers, and Sauce Gardner decided to celebrate by wearing a cheesehead (pictured above). Around five months after that game, the Jets and Rodgers began speaking about a trade, and Gardner "made up" with Rodgers by promising to burn the cheesehead if they became teammates:
Three days later, he fulfilled that promise in a YouTube video that also featured running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson:
The rest, they say, is history.
Rodgers announced his intent to play for the Jets on The Pat McAfee Show. After a month of negotiations and false alarms, Gang Green now has its man, and it will be interesting to see how the veteran quarterback fares with his new team.
