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Is Aaron Rodgers Calling the Shots for Trade to Jets?

Former Cal star posts mysterious Tweet, and he reportedly has a wish list of free-agent receivers that he would like the Jets to acquire
Jake Curtis|
Is Aaron Rodgers Calling the Shots for Trade to Jets?
Is Aaron Rodgers Calling the Shots for Trade to Jets?

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New York JetsGreen Bay Packers

It has become apparent that if Aaron Rodgers decides to play in the 2023 season – which seems likely – he will wind up with the New York Jets, and he reportedly already has made suggestions to the Jets as to which free agent receivers he would like the Jets to acquire.

Everyone is guessing the motivation or meaning of the latest report, and Rodgers added to the puzzle by posting a mysterious tweet on Monday.

What's your guess as to what the former Cal quarterback had in mind with that?  If he just playing with us? More on this at the end of the story.

Rodgers, a former Cal quarterback, has not officially announced whether he will retire or return for the 2023 season, but if he does, all indications are that the Packers will trade him to the Jets. The teams have already discussed the parameters of a possible trade, and Trey Wingo of the NFL Network reported via twitter on Monday that the deal has been completed.

Rodgers is acting like he’s headed to New York, because on Tuesday ESPN reported that Rodgers gave the Jets a wish list of four free agent receivers he would like the Jets to try to obtain: wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and tight end Marcedes Lewis.

Lazard, Cobb and Lewis were teammates of Rodgers in Green Bay this past season, and Beckham, who missed the 2022 season with a knee injury, is a friend of Rodgers.

The Jets reportedly have already shown interest in signing Lazard, Cobb and Lewis, and it would not be a surprise if they speak with Beckham about the possibility of signing him.

In fact, theScore reported the Jets have already reached an agreement to sign Lazard:

The question is this: Is Rodgers’ wish list actually a series of demands the Jets need to fulfill for Rodgers to agree to join the Jets? Or is it merely a suggestion of players the Jets should pursue to improve their club? Or did the Jets ask Rodgers who he'd like to see on the team, and Rodgers simply answered the question?

You wonder how the current Jets receivers will react to Rodgers’ wish list and the Jets reaction to it.

The Jets have three returning starters at receiver: Garrett Wilson, the 2022 NFL Rookie Offensive Player of the Year, who had 83 receptions for 1,103 yards last season; Elijah Moore, who had 65 catches for 446 yards as a second-year player last season, and Corey Davis, who had 32 catches for 536 yards.

The four players on Rodgers’ wish list are all veterans.

Lazard is the youngest of the group at 27 years old, and he had his best season as a pro in 2022 with 60 catches for 788 yards and six touchdowns.

Beckham is a three-time Pro Bowl selection, but has not been a Pro Bowler since 2016, and he is 30 years old and coming off a major knee injury.

Cobb will turn 33 before the 2023 season starts after making 34 receptions this past season, and Lewis, primarily a blocking tight end, will turn 39 in May and had just six catches last season.

Rodgers is probably not thinking long term, though. He will turn 40 years old in December and probably would play only one or two more seasons if he opts not to retire now.

Regarding the strange Rodgers tweet, it seems it may not have been posted by Rodgers but by Rodgers' Packers reammate, Rasul Douglas.  Douglas tweeted this later:

Rodgers has been tight-lipped about his plans for the future and he is not one to post perplexing tweets, so it may have been a plant by someone else.

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Cover photo of Randall Cobb and Aaron Rodgers is by Wm. Glasheen, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, USA TODAY NETWORK

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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