Cheese Curds, 3/16: Packers’ uncertainty shifts from Rodgers’ status to Love’s future

For better or worse, Green Bay Packers fans can finally stop wondering what will happen with Aaron Rodgers. When it will happen and what the Packers will receive in trade compensation are questions that remain, but now that Rodgers has spoken publicly, his desires and plans are no longer a mystery.

Yes, Rodgers wants to play, and yes, he wants to play for the New York Jets. A deal will get done at some point, once the two teams decide on trade compensation, and Rodgers will swap his green and gold for green and white.

For the Packers, Wednesday effectively closed the door on one era of the team’s history and opened a new one, as Jordan Love will take over as the team’s starting quarterback. Wednesday was also a big day around the NFL as a whole, with the 2023 league year beginning, but that was practically an afterthought amid Rodgers’ appearance and the reveal of his plans.

Rodgers certainly harbors no ill will towards Packers fans nor to the organization itself, though it does sound like there are some individuals inside the building whom he is unhappy with. But for better or worse, he will be moving on to finish his career elsewhere like so many other elite quarterbacks have done before him, and although most Packers fans can agree that it’s time for a change, it’s not hard to look back at the last 18 years fondly.

Aaron Rodgers leaves a complicated Packers legacy, exits like Favre | ESPN
As Mark Murphy once said, Rodgers is a "complicated fella," and his legacy got a lot more complicated on Wednesday. Sooner or later, he'll be headed to the Jets, and although he didn't go full scorched-earth on the Packers, he definitely expressed some significant displeasure about how he felt he was treated this offseason.

Aaron Rodgers says Packers shifted tone on wanting him back: ‘Something changed’ - The Athletic ($)
One of the things he complained about on Wednesday's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show was that he felt the Packers' approach to him changed during his darkness retreat -- that they had started shopping him around.

Saying farewell to a legend and welcoming in a fresh start | Packers Wire
Whatever the details, Rodgers' tenure in Green Bay was one of general brilliance, with a handful of frustrating postseason disappointments. Much like in 2008, however, it's time to turn the page and look ahead to an unknown future with another young quarterback.

The Jordan Love Era Has Arrived After Packers Trade Aaron Rodgers - Sports Illustrated
That young quarterback will surely have his fifth-year option picked up soon, and even Rodgers said that Love is ready to be an NFL starter: "He's going to be a great player."

Twitter reacts to Aaron Rodgers interview The Pat McAfee Show | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
The reactions from around social media ranged from cringeworthy to truly hilarious, and even Adam Schefter got in on the fun with a screenshot of a text he got from Rodgers.

Packers' 2023 free-agency rundown: Here's the latest | Packers.com
Lost in all of the Rodgers news is the fact that free agency and the 2023 league year actually began on Wednesday afternoon. Of course, the 4 PM deadline is much less exciting than it used to be thanks to the early negotiation period, as almost all of the big signings break on Monday or Tuesday now.

Sloth bites teen during visit to Michigan pet store, ruining lifelong dream - mlive.com
“It was a strike like a snake. It wasn’t in slow motion at all. It happened so fast I didn’t even realize it happened." That's not a quote I expected to see about a sloth today.