Photo: Getty Images
Aaron Rodgers will reportedly make his debut for the New York Jets during next Saturday's preseason finale (August 26) game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the New York Post on Sunday (August 20).
Rodgers, 39, who was acquired by the Jets in April, sat out of the team's first three preseason games while former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson started in his absence. The four-time NFL MVP signed a new two-year deal with the Jets, which will include a pay cut, two months after being acquired by the franchise in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported last month.
"The #Jets signed four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to a new two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract through the 2024 season, per NFL salary data. Rodgers had nearly $110M guaranteed remaining on his old deal in GB. He’s taking less for a shot at a ring (or two) in New York," Pelissero tweeted.
"Aaron Rodgers takes a pay cut to play for the #Jets," Rapoport added in a quote-tweet response to his colleague.
Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Green Bay Packers last offseason amid previous reports of being disgruntled with the franchise. The Jets acquired Rodgers in a blockbuster trade with the Packers, with whom the quarterback spent the entirety of his 18-year NFL career, in April.
Rodgers had previously announced his intention to play for the Jets during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show prior to the completion of a deal. The 39-year-old met with Jets owner Woody Johnson and a contingent of team representatives in California on March 7.
New York had previously acquired Rodgers' predecessor, Brett Favre, in a trade with the Packers in 2008, which led to the eventual four-time NFL MVP taking over as Green Bay's starting quarterback for the remainder of his tenure with the franchise. In January, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Jets were "a very real scenario" in a possible trade for Rodgers even prior to the recent hiring of Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator, who had previously held the same position in Green Bay and Rodgers had publicly praised following his hiring as the Denver Broncos' head coach last offseason.
Rodgers led the NFL's top scoring offense during the first of two consecutive Associated Press Most Valuable Player award-winning seasons in 2020, both of which took place during Hackett's tenure with the Packers.
Rodgers was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons ahead of the 2022 NFL season, which resulted in Green Bay missing the playoffs after clinching a postseason berth during the previous three consecutive seasons and 11 of the past 13 years.
Rodgers leads all Packers quarterbacks with 475 touchdowns and ranks second in franchise history behind only Favre in QB wins (147), completions (5,001) and passing yards (7,660).