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With the trade completed, quarterback Aaron Rodgers can now channel his energy to help the New York Jets. The four-time MVP is expected to join his new squad in their offseason activities, especially in training camp.
But one of Rodgers’ first moves as a Jet might have raised many eyebrows. The screenshot below shows him liking Barstool Sports’ tweet about Zach Wilson’s statement from last season.
Wilson made that statement by the end of the 2022 regular season when there were rumors that Rodgers might join the Jets. The former BYU standout said:
“I’m going to make that dude’s life hell in practice every day. I’m going to go out there and do my best to show the coaches that I deserve to be there. It’s not in a negative way, it’s a positive way. It’s making everybody else better.”
Some clues made football fans speculate that Rodgers was going to The Big Apple. The Jets hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to fill the same role. They also acquired former Green Bay wide receiver Allen Lazard.
More than a month after Rodgers announced his intention to switch teams, the Jets got him and the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 first-rounder (15th overall). New York will also get the Packers’ fifth-rounder this year (170th overall).
The Packers, on the other hand, received the New York Jets’ 2023 first-round (13th overall) and second-round (42nd overall) picks. They also get a 2023 sixth-rounder (207th overall) and a conditional 2024 second-rounder. The 2024 pick could become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ offensive snaps this season.
Despite what Wilson said earlier this year, his mother approved the trade that sent Rodgers to the Jets. She even posted a photo of her son with the four-time First Team All-Pro play-caller at the joint Jets-Packers practice during the 2021 offseason.
Zach Wilson calls Aaron Rodgers his role model
Wilson will have difficulty competing for the starting role as he was often injured and erratic in his first two seasons. But he will learn a lot from the quarterback he idolizes. Wilson said after the Week 6 Jets-Packers game last season:
“As long as I can remember playing football, I was a big fan. We didn’t have an NFL team in Utah, so I wouldn’t say I was a Packers fan, but I was just an Aaron Rodgers fan. I grew up watching him. He was the quarterback I tried to replicate and steal things from. I like the way he plays the game.’
“I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned that to him, but I’ve been watching him ever since I was a little kid. I was trying to replicate the way he throws, the way he plays the game.”
However, Wilson will watch more of Aaron Rodgers this season but from their sideline. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old quarterback will try to lead the Jets to their first playoff appearance since 2010.
