The wait is finally over.
The New York Jets have acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers just days before the 2023 NFL Draft, according to multiple reports and an Associated Press source.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity on Monday because the teams have not officially announced the deal.
As part of the trade, the two teams will swap their first-round picks at Thursday night's draft, with the 13th pick going to the Packers and the 15th pick going to the Jets, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
Schefter reports that the Packers will receive a conditional 2024 pick as well, that will become a first rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of snaps next season. It will be a second rounder if he doesn’t, according to Schefter.
The Packers will also get a 2023 second-round pick (42) and sixth-round pick (207), and the Jets will receive a 2023 fifth-round pick (170) to complete the deal, according to Schefter.
A four-time NFL MVP (2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021), Rodgers has thrown for over 59,000 yards and 475 touchdown passes in his 18-season career. He has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (475-105) in NFL history.
This will be the first season Rodgers plays for a team other than the Packers. The 39-year-old leaves Green Bay as the franchise leader in touchdowns (475), completion percentage (65.3) and passer rating (103.6). He is second behind only Brett Favre in passing yards (59,055) and completions (5,001).
This isn't the first time the Jets traded for a quarterback from the Packers. In 2008, the Packers sent Favre to the Jets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick.
Entering Week 12 of the subsequent regular season, the Jets were 8-3 and appeared destined to make the playoffs. However, Favre injured the biceps tendon in his throwing arm and struggled down the stretch, throwing two touchdowns and eight interceptions in his final six games.
The Jets missed the postseason, and in the offseason, Favre told the Jets he was retiring. However, he signed with the Vikings in August 2009, ending his tumultuous time in the tri-state area.
The most recent trade between the Jets and Packers comes after Rodgers told "The Pat McAfee Show" in March that his "intention" was to play for the Jets next season. Rodgers, who was coming off a four-day "darkness retreat" where he contemplated his NFL future, said he was not "holding anything up," adding the delay was caused by "compensation that the Packers are trying to get."
Negotiations went back and forth for over a month, dominating the NFL headlines. After talking for weeks, conversations between the Jets and Packers broke down, but the two sides moved closer to a deal over the last week before an agreement was reported Monday.
The trade means Zach Wilson, who the Jets drafted second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, will be the backup next year for the Jets. Wilson has struggled when given playing time, throwing 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 22 games across his two NFL seasons. The 23-year-old was benched twice last year due to poor play.
Now, Wilson will get to shadow one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and if everything goes according to plan, he could be the eventual franchise quarterback when Rodgers retires.
The Packers will now turn to Jordan Love, 24, as their new franchise quarterback. They drafted Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft in a move that drew national attention and annoyed Rodgers, according to multiple outlets.
Love has only appeared in 10 NFL games and received one start — a 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. His career path to this point mirrors that of Rodgers, who also was a backup for three seasons before getting his shot to be the starter after Favre was traded away to the Jets.
Rodgers wore No. 12 during his time with the Packers, and Schefter says Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath gave Rodgers his blessing to wear No. 12 in New York, a number the Jets retired in 1985.
However, Schefter says Rodgers will wear No. 8 for the Jets, which is the number he wore while playing college football at the University of California.