GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers' time as a Green Bay Packers has officially come to an end.
After months of speculation and negotiation, the Packers finally traded Rodgers to the New York Jets Tuesday in exchange for a 2023 second round pick and a conditional 2024 first round pick. The teams will also swap first round picks in the 2023 draft, according to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The move comes one month after Rodgers announced his intentions to play for the Jets next season.
🚨 🚨 🚨 Sources: The #Packers and #Jets have agreed to the mega-trade, sending 4-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the #Jets for major compensation. Finally!The deal includes a 2nd rounder this year, a 1st round pick swap this year, and a conditional 1st rounder in 2024. pic.twitter.com/QfOWggeAU6
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers' time in a Packers jersey appears to be up after nearly 20 years.
Rumors surrounding Rodgers' next move began mere seconds after the Packers' final game of the 2022-23 season ended, when the star quarterback declined to swap jerseys with an opponent and left Lambeau Field arm-and-arm with teammate Randall Cobb.
Following the game, Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show that he was open to a trade. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Packers wanted to move on from Rodgers, and the Jets reportedly first inquired with the Packers about Rodgers' availability in early February.
In mid-February, Rodgers opted to take a darkness retreat to help him come to a decision, spending four days in complete darkness in a 300-square-foot room equipped with only a bed, a bathroom and a meditation mat.
Rodgers later told the Pat McAfee Show that he was "90% (on) retiring" when he entered the retreat, but changed his mind after he said the Packers weren't up front about their intentions to trade him.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst pushed back on those claims, saying he reached out "many times" to Rodgers only to hear nothing back.
On March 6, Rodgers reportedly held conversations with members of the Jets' staff. ESPN's Dan Graziano reported that staff members, including Jets owner Woody Johnson and GM Joe Douglas, met with Rodgers in California on March 7.
Rodgers announced during the Pat McAfee Show on March 15 that his intention was to play for the Jets. Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said that the team would honor Rodgers' request for a trade.
As Aaron Rodgers departs for New York, he leaves behind a story that fans will never forget.
Rodgers was a surprise first-round pick by the Packers in the 2005 NFL Draft, as the team was coming off a 10-6 record with Brett Favre at quarterback in the 2004 season. Rodgers played sparingly in his first three pro seasons behind Favre, appearing in a total of seven regular-season games, but the team moved on from Favre in a messy separation before the 2008 season.
Favre retired, then un-retired and was traded to -- of all teams -- the New York Jets.
After going 6-10 in the first season with Rodgers as the starter, the Packers had just more two losing seasons in which Rodgers started a majority of the games — in 2018, in which then-head coach Mike McCarthy was fired mid-season, and in 2022.
MADISON, Wis. -- Packers quarterback and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers left his apparent successor Jordan Love with nothing but praise as he made his intentions known Wednesday to play for the Jets.
The Packers won the Super Bowl in Rodgers’ third year as the starting quarterback in the 2010 season, but were never able to make it back, despite coming close multiple times — most notably in the 2014 season, when the Packers’ defense and special teams let a large lead slip away in Seattle against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.
After Matt LaFleur became the Packers’ head coach in 2019, Rodgers and the Packers offense saw a resurgence that brought hope of another Super Bowl appearance, but that never materialized, with two more losses in the NFC Championship game.
In 2022, Rodgers dealt with injury throughout the season, but still started in 17 games. However, he posted his lowest amount of completions and passing yards in five seasons, and threw more than 10 interceptions for the first time since 2010.
During his career in the regular season, Rodgers has thrown for 59,055 passing yards, 475 touchdowns, 105 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 103.6. In the postseason, Rodgers has thrown for 5,894 passing yards, 45 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His career record in the playoffs is 11-10.
He is the Packers’ all-time leader in touchdown passes after passing Brett Favre’s mark of 442 during the 2021 season, and ranks second behind Favre’s 61,655 passing yards.
Rodgers also ranks among the NFL’s greats in the league record books, ranking 9th all-time in career passing yards, 5th all-time in passing touchdowns, and 2nd all-time in QB Rating.
Rodgers' departure opens the door for Jordan Love, who himself was a surprise first-round pick by the Packers in the 2020 NFL Draft. The team had just finished 13-3, won the NFC North, and advanced to the NFC Championship with Rodgers under center.
Love has appeared in just 10 games in his three seasons in Green Bay, and made his first start in 2021.
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