Adam Schefter calls Jets, Raiders the 'logical' landing spots for Aaron Rodgers

As Aaron Rodgers attempts to figure out his NFL future, ESPN insider Adam Schefter believes two teams stand out as potential destinations. Rodgers is still deciding whether he wants to play in 2023, revealing last week he plans to go on a four-day “darkness retreat as he weighs his decision.

Schefter appeared on SportsCenter on Wednesday, where he identified the Jets and Raiders as the most likely landing spots for the four-time MVP.

“There are really two logical landing spots for Aaron Rodgers if he decides to play when he comes out of the darkness,” Schefter said. “One would be with the Jets. The other would be with the Raiders. And if, and when, he does decide to play, my guess is it would probably involve a No. 1 pick. So, that would be what the Jets would be looking at giving up to get Aaron Rodgers.”

The Jets are coming off of a 7-10 season that saw them end the year on a six-game losing streak. They started three different quarterbacks in Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White. Wilson is the former No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 draft, but has struggled so far in his brief career.

With that being the case, Adam Schefter believes bringing in a veteran quarterback like Aaron Rodgers could be what the team needs to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

“If they stay (at No. 13) yeah, you want to bolster the offensive line, like Todd says,” Schefter said. “But I think their first priority is figuring out which veteran quarterback they’re going to be bringing in to, essentially, put in front of Zach Wilson while they put him in bubble wrap for some time to see if he can grow, improve and recover from the year he went through.”

As for the Raiders, they are in the market for a new quarterback after releasing Derek Carr on Tuesday. Receiver Davante Adams is the main thing tying Rodgers to Las Vegas, as the two spent eight seasons together in Green Bay from 2014-21. Rodgers has been vocal this offseason about the impact that losing Adams had on the Packers in 2022.

Rodgers is still under contract with the Packers in 2023, but many expect him to be traded. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Jets reached out to Green Bay about Rodgers’ availability, further backing up Schefter’s claims.

This past season was rough on Rodgers as the Packers missed the playoffs and he threw for 3,695 yards — his fewest since 2017 despite playing 10 more games — 26 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. If a trade does end up happening, we’ll see if a change of scenery can help him regain his MVP form.