It is a little out of the ordinary to preview a game that doesn’t even belong to the upcoming season, doesn’t have a date set, might not actually happen at all and won’t take place for more than a year even if it does.
But not much about Aaron Rodgers returning to Lambeau Field would be ordinary, so not only do the usual protocols fail to apply, but you’ll forgive this column for getting amped up even for something that remains entirely hypothetical for now.
Rodgers is a New York Jet these days, which — unless you’ve been snoozing since April — is not news. He now intends to remain in the Big Apple for more than a year — which is news.
The quarterback’s revelation last week that he sees his time with the Jets as something more than a one-and-done kind of deal has come as a bit of a jolt, for Rodgers has steadfastly refused to look too far into the future for a good few years now.
Now that he’s done so, what would be a reunion of monumental significance has come into potential view — and no, I’m not immune to jumping on the premature hype train.
Rodgers gave rise to all this by making it clear that he likes life with the Jets, where he’s reportedly showcased zip and accuracy at the start of camp, and sees it as a process that has some relative longevity.
“When you have so many great players on rookie deals, it’s pretty exciting, knowing you can do something,” Rodgers told reporters last Thursday. “You’ve got a good window. It’s not just a one-year thing where you can be competitive, which is fun.”
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On an appearance on ESPN New York the following day, he added: “The Jets gave up a lot for me, so to just play one year would be a disservice.”
After a long negotiating period between the teams, New York ultimately gave up a second-round pick and another conditional second-rounder that could become a first, plus a sixth-rounder. The Packers got the better end of a first-round pick swap (Nos. 13 for 15 this year), handed over a fifth-round selection and parted company with Rodgers after 18 years, all but three of them as starter.
“I wouldn’t put pressure on him to commit to something like that, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play multiple years,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said.
So, let’s lock in on Packers v. Jets in Green Bay, even if it isn’t until 2024. Well, hold on a second. There is still a bit of work to be done there.
The Packers and Jets “might” square off during the season after this one, and that’s as far as it goes. We simply won’t know until the current campaign is done, and it requires a sense of unwitting symmetry between Rodgers’ old employer and his new one.
Who each team will play is set only to a point, and includes a provision, due to the divisional rotation system used by the NFL, that Green Bay will host a team from the AFC East during the 2024 slate.
That opponent will correlate with the finishing position achieved by the Packers during 2023. For example, a Cheesehead-flavored NFC North title combined with Gang Green breaking a 22-season drought by winning its division would lock in the matchup.
Perhaps, given the respective realities faced by each team, a pair of complementary second- or third-place finishes is likelier. Green Bay is beginning a new era behind Jordan Love and the Jets are operating in the same airspace as three-time reigning AFC East victors the Buffalo Bills. The bottom spot in the division would be a deep disappointment for either.
“Jets – I think their best case is 12-5 and make the AFC Championship game,” FS1’s Nick Wright said on “First Things First.” “I don’t think Rodgers is going to do the (Tom) Brady, (Matthew) Stafford thing and get to a team and take them to a Super Bowl.
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“Worst case is they are the same record as last year, 7-10, Rodgers walks and they owe the Packers a first-round pick. Most likely is they finish 10-7, they are three games better, and they are a Wild Card team that has no real playoff juice.”
Whew. However it transpires, can we finally start imagining the visuals from a Rodgers return to the stadium where he held court for so long? Go on then. No matter the outcome, it would be one of those unforgettable NFL occasions, discussed and debated to the ultimate degree beforehand.
There would surely be some pageantry and ceremony at Lambeau, and thinking about how the game and the bragging rights and how much Rodgers would want to win makes you feel like reaching for the popcorn. Let’s hold fire on that for sure, it’s going to spoil if left for 14 months plus, unbuttered or otherwise.
Rodgers did leave one caveat dangling, indicating that he may indeed walk away if the Jets could complete a “magical year”, which was widely taken to mean a Super Bowl triumph. New York would happily accept that bargain, having suffered for so long.
The rest of us will root for a different story, because the thought of Rodgers waltzing back into Lambeau is just too juicy to resist.
A new waiting game begins, then, for something that may turn out to be nothing but a mirage. These are, indeed, unusual times.
