Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets will be featured on Hard Knocks

If Green Bay Packers fans thought that they were done hearing about Aaron Rodgers for a while, ESPN’s Adam Schefter put an end to that on Wednesday when he reported that Rodgers’ New York Jets will be featured on Hard Knocks this year.

Hard Knocks, an annual reality series that covers one team from training camp through the preseason, can only be refused by squads that either have a first-year head coach, have been to the playoffs over the last two seasons or have been the focus of Hard Knocks in the prior decade, based on HBO’s agreement with the league. This meant that only the Jets, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders couldn’t turn down the opportunity to bring in all those television cameras into practice this summer. As you can imagine, based on the squads listed, the Jets were the overwhelming favorite to be named Hard Knocks’ team in 2023.

Whether you want to admit it or not, Packers fans, many of you will be watching Hard Knocks this season to see what Rodgers has to say about his former team. Maybe we’ll finally find out if Rodgers really did request a trade due to poor cell service that led to a miscommunication between him and general manager Brian Gutekunst.

While Rodgers has had nothing but nice things to say about Packers fans and the Green Bay community, at least since he claimed that free agents only signed with the Packers to play with him, the quarterback has made plenty of stern statements about the organization and the front office, in particular. We’ll see if some of that venom comes out on HBO, as they’ll almost certainly want to play up that angle as they build the story of the new-look Jets.

Beyond Rodgers, other former Packers on the Jets include offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, receivers Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Malik Taylor, tackle Billy Turner, backup quarterback Tim Boyle and safety Adrian Amos. If you tune in, you’ll see plenty of familiar faces this year. Heck, maybe Marcedes Lewis and Mason Crosby will be in New Jersey by the time the Jets open up camp next week.