NFL World Reacts to Blockbuster Aaron Rodgers Trade to Jets

The long courtship between the superstar quarterback and New York finally has come to a close.

It finally happened.

With ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting Monday afternoon that the Jets would acquire quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Packers for a first-round draft pick swap, a second-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a conditional 2024 second-round pick, one of the lengthiest flirtations between a superstar and a team in recent NFL history came to a close.

Despite having been telegraphed for months, the news still managed to set the football world on fire. Rodgers, after all, is a four-time MVP and one of the most successful quarterbacks of any generation.

Even NFL insiders seemed to express relief that the saga had drawn to a close, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport exclaiming, “Finally!”

🚨 🚨 🚨 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

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2023

Many observers focused on New York’s newfound relevance as it seeks its first championship since the 1968 season.

The #Jets have not played a Sunday Night Football game since 2012.

That will finally change this season. pic.twitter.com/YcWnKo7xwe

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 24, 2023

Some poked fun at Green Bay’s awkward quarterback dynamic in Rodgers’s final years.

Jordan Love cleaning out Aaron Rodgers Packers locker pic.twitter.com/dwMo1iX5lt

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 24, 2023

Others chuckled at the Jets’ similarly strange dynamic after quarterback Zach Wilson’s disastrous 2022 season.

Zach Wilson at Aaron Rodgers welcome party pic.twitter.com/81ziyBTj5H

— McNeil (@Reflog_18) April 24, 2023

Along those lines, some had fun tying in the Rodgers trade with a busy Monday news cycle.

Zach Wilson, Don Lemon, and Tucker Carlson at the unemployment office: pic.twitter.com/8k7hrGqBSC

— Muhammad Alinked-in (@PBSImpulse9) April 24, 2023

Others were quick to point out the hilarious way in which New York’s players rolled out the red carpet for their new teammate.

RB Breece Hall has a new profile pic after the Jets acquired 4x MVP Aaron Rodgers from the Packers.

It is A-Rod from his days at Cal 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wZVTANdC7t

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 24, 2023

Still others focused on how well the Packers fared in a trade poised to change the balance of power in the NFL.

So let me get this straight: the Packers get
A first-round pick swap in 2023
A high second-round pick in 2023
A likely first-round pick in 2024 (at worst a second)
A $60 million financial obligation taken off their hands
For
A player that was never going to play for them again.

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) April 24, 2023