The Aaron Rodgers to Jets storyline has had more twists and turns than M. Night Shyamalan movie. Primarily because of the misinformation that's spread around. Several weeks ago Adam Schefter gave his opinion and most outlets took it as a report. Schefter even went on Pat McAfee and said "I gave my opinion, I was very clear it was not a report, what can you do though" and while I'm paraphrasing there, I believe the attention was his intention. It's like when someone gets accused of a heinous crime. Everyone hears about it because of that shock value. How many people follow to find out they were innocent? Does that get blasted in our faces? Nope. Innocence isn't what we want. Innocence doesn't make us feel better about ourselves, but hey, someone with a lot of money being accused of something bad? That somehow makes us feel better. No one wants to admit that, let alone acknowledge it because that means they'd have to step down from that virtual pedestal they stand upon.
Like about half million other people, I watched Aaron Rodgers on Pat McAfee.
A few things stuck out to me ...
Rodgers has bemoaned anonymous sources, but when Adam Schefter texted him for information, he responded with something like "lose my number. nice try tho". You're a player in the NFL who has been one of the best arm talents the game has ever seen. You're going to be talked about. If they reach out to you, don't be a dick, just talk to them. Get YOUR side out there. Then again, maybe he's has his words taken out context so frequently that he just refuses to even put his toes in that water? Remember in 2017 he started recording his conversations with reporters so he wouldn't be misquoted.
Dianna Russini tweeted that Rodgers has a "wishlist" of players and that list included Lazard, Cobb, Marcedes and OBJ. While talking with McAfee, Rodgers acknowledged the Jets asked him about some players and he gave his input. I thought Rodgers was kind of douche rocket when discussing this, but he did say when something gets put out there, it's like a game of telephone. Meaning she put out there there's a wishlist of players he would like the Jets to look at signing and it got turned into "oh, he wants these guys to be signed, otherwise he doesn't want to come". And I get it. How many people say Rodgers wants to be GM? How did that start? Simple. He said he wants to have a VOICE at the table. Somehow, wanting to be heard was turned into him demanding to make the decisions.
He also contradicted himself on how much time he spent during his darkness retreat. He told Aubrey he spent "parts of" day three and day four, whereas weeks later with McAfee he said he devoted one full day contemplating retirement and one full day contemplating continuing to play. I know this well because I watched the interview days before he went on the McAfee show. This is trivial at best, but I look for reasons to believe someone. I'm just not sure how he goes from parts of two days to devoted entire two days as they are the same. Maybe I'm just being pedantic.
While his comment of "I would say this is debatable, but I'm debatably the best player in franchise history" I think we all feel is accurate that he's definitely in the conversation. It came off a little insecure, similar to when Mike McCarthy said, "Let's state the facts: I'm a highly successful NFL coach". Rodgers has said a few times that, Bart Starr is the greatest Packer ever. I don't know what has changed in the last five to seven years. I'm not condemning Rodgers for this comment either. I also don't condemn him for feeling insecure. The man is human, it's perfectly normal. It's just an observation here, not criticism. I felt it illuminated a little insight into his mindset.
After the Lions game, Rodgers said something about not feeling like the Packers wanted him back. In another discussion when asked about that comment, he said he had a feeling the Packers just want to go younger. Then on McAfee he said the Packers told him before his retreat they would welcome him back with open arms next season. This is confusing because he said he hadn't talked with Packers since the first week after the season concluded. So if they told him that, why would he still feel they wanted to move on? It doesn't make sense. He also said he was 90% retired when he went into the retreat and when he came out he got phone calls, voicemails and/or texts saying Packers were shopping him around and he wanted to continue playing. I'm not gonna listen to the whole thing again so I can word it properly or accurately because you don't care. The premise is there though.
Something else of note. Rodgers has said a few times he doesn't want to follow Favre's footsteps. Not in those exact words. He goes to the Jets? Same thing as Favre did? Rodgers did say he had interest in uniting (he was careful not to say reunite) with someone was important to him. It seemed obvious it was Davante Adams. Anyhow, the reason I bring this up is because he is very selective with his wording. When he pauses and inhale, exhale, he's being super calculated and said 'it is my intention to play for the New York Jets', sure you can claim semantics or being pedantic here, but the guy chooses his words with reason. Doubt me? IMMUNIZED! Yeah, moving on. If this doesn't go down how we all think (trade to Jets), it will be interesting to hear the back story as to why it didn't happen. Also, keep in mind that Rodgers when asked by Brandon Marshall about meeting with Woody Johnson (BIG PHARMA heir) he said it was "interesting". I'm not entirely sold that Rodgers wants to play for the Jets.
While I don't agree with the (perceived) tone at times talking others down, I kind of get where the angst is coming from. There were just several things he contradicted himself on. Really kind of surprising (to me) from a guy who wants transparency and everyone to shoot straight. I suppose as Ted Thompson used to say, he’s a complicated fella. 🤷♂️