Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) watches the action on field right before halftime during their game Sunday, November 21, 2021 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 34-31. © MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK.
Wily Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers might be heading to the New York Jets this offseason, and you know what that means for the following season.
NFL analyst Trey Wingo tweeted Monday night, “Per sources. Aaron Rodgers and the Jets had conversations today. While nothing is imminent Rodgers is open to the idea of going to NY.”
And after the Wingo tweet, the Jets brass is reportedly meeting with Rodgers this week in California about a possible 2023 relationship. The Packers front office would’ve had to greenlight any Jets-Rodgers talks, so Green Bay is evidently open to trading the future Hall of Famer.
Fox Sports‘ Colin Cowherd was quick to draw Rodgers parallels to Brett Favre from 15 years ago because — well, they’re obvious. Just like Favre in the mid-to-late 2000s, Rodgers has dramatically vacillated between retiring, continuing to play football, or requesting a trade — seemingly every offseason since 2021. Fast forward to 2023, and Rodgers feels like a trade candidate for the first tangible time in his life.
Cowherd outlined all the spooky Rodgers-Favre similarities, mainly because they’re as plain as day. Down to his next potential team, Rodgers is following his predecessor’s footsteps with a script Hollywood wouldn’t dare write due to duplicity.
After drawing seven correlations between Rodgers and Favre, Cowherd said on his popular show, “This only means one thing — that Aaron Rodgers will be the starting QB for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.“
Since Rodgers began “what should I do?“ antics in the 2021 offseason, Vikings fans have whispered about the Favrian possibility, some even predicting 2024 as the accurate year for the plan to actionize. And wouldn’t you know it, according to Cowherd, everything is on schedule.
Of course, the only item cosmically drawing Rodgers to Minnesota — like, ever — is the Favre saga from 2008 to 2009. He’s never intimated a desire to play for the Vikings, nor is it likely that he will pick Minnesota in 2024 over 31 other teams.
Still, the mojo is odd. What has transpired in Green Bay in the last three years, leading up to a potential trade to the Jets, is exactly the Favre path. There are no yeah-buts. This is what happened. To a tee.
Perhaps even more noteworthy is the timing on the Vikings side of things. Kirk Cousins’ contract is scheduled to run out in 2023, meaning Minnesota could need a new QB1 in 2024. Nobody thought Favre joining the Vikings was overly realistic 15 years ago, and here were are in 2023, muttering the same thing.
Cowherd’s musings will probably turn out to be false in the end, but for now, this thing is a time warp.
If Rodgers is traded, it will likely occur within the next week and involve a bevy of draft picks. Rodgers turns 40 in December.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.