Packers insider: Desperate Jets were blind to ‘toxic’ Aaron Rodgers

NJ Advance Media for NJ. com It’s no secret that the New York Jets were desperately seeking an upgrade at the quarterback position after last season. Jets quarterbacks ranked last in completion percentage (56.

9) and passer rating (75) in 2022. They ranked second to last with 15 touchdowns. When it became clear that Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to retire - after a short stint at a darkness retreat - and he wanted to play for Gang Green, Jets executives couldn’t resist.

New York’s inability to produce an impactful quarterback allowed them to put on blinders when they brought in the four-time AP MVP, says Packers insider Peter Bukowski “The reason I think it’s gotten so toxic is actually the reverse problem in New York,” Bukowski told Jessica Kleinschmidt on the “Short and To The Point” podcast. “They haven’t had a star quarterback since Joe Namath. We’re talking about 50-plus years.

And so, they’re so starved for this moment that they don’t want to hear anything negative about Aaron Rodgers. They don’t want to hear about the reality of the situation from a Green Bay Packers standpoint that by the end, speaking of toxic, it had gotten a little toxic there. ” Since joining the Jets, Rodgers has been a model citizen.

His teammates wax poetically about him regularly on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” and he even took a generous pay cut to loosen up the Jets’ salary cap and enable them to sign better players — like running back Dalvin Cook. Clearly, this is what the Packers were missing in Rodgers, whose relationship with Greenbay took a sour turn after 18 years with the organization. Heck even Milwaukee bars are offering free drinks anytime the Jets lose with Rodgers as the starting QB.

“Aaron Rodgers wanted guys fired,” said Bukowski. “He wanted massive cultural changes. He wanted a massive amount of more input in what was going on in Green Bay and the Packers said, ‘No.

No. 1, we’re not gonna trade you. No.

2, we’re not gonna give you all this input. ’ Now they gave him some. They traded for [veteran wide receiver] Randall Cobb, his buddy, but that was kind of it.

They didn’t do a lot of other things. Now, they did give him a little bit more control of the offense. I thought that made the offense worse.

Then, they gave him a little bit more in 2022. That definitely made the offense worse. And he didn’t buy in.

After winning consecutive MVP awards, Rodgers had a down season in 2022. His 91. 1 passer rating was the lowest since 2006 when he played just two games for the Packers.

It was still better than the league average and definitely better than the Jets’ passer rating. Maybe Rodgers’ relationship with Green Bay had grown stale - both sides appeared to be sick of each other and had to go separate ways. Early signs point to the quarterback being an incredible addition for the Jets, and for the Packers, this allows them to have a fresh start.

Like they did when Rodgers replaced Brett Favre in 2008. .