Aaron Rodgers has officially been traded to the New York Jets but, one day after, the quarterback had an emotional message to say goodbye to the Packers.
For the first time since April 2005, Aaron Rodgers is not on the Green Bay Packers.
On Monday, the long-awaited trade between Green Bay and the New York Jets was agreed to, sending the future Hall of Fame quarterback to the Big Apple for a bevy of draft picks. Now, the Jordan Love era begins for the Packers while the Jets chase a Super Bowl with Rodgers.
One day after the trade officially transpired, though, Rodgers took to Instagram to pen an emotional goodbye to the Packers, his former teammates, the front office, and most importantly the fans.
Aaron Rodgers in emotional goodbye to Packers: ‘You’ll always have my heart’
Frankly, that was far more emotional and heartfelt than expected. Even though Rodgers spent 18 seasons with the Packers — 15 as the starter — and won one Super Bowl and four NFL MVP trophies over his time in Green Bay, his demeanor in recent years didn’t indicate this would be the reaction we would get upon his departure from the franchise.
But alas, it’s clear that, as he said, the Packers are the team that he grew up with and learned to love football even more. And the fans were behind him just about every step of the way, for better or worse. So it makes sense that he would be emotional, even if it is somewhat unexpected.
This is an end of an era in Green Bay, without question. Packers football, though, has always been bigger than their quarterback. It was true with Bart Starr, with Brett Favre, and now with Aaron Rodgers. And it’ll be true after Jordan Love too.
Having said that, the fans, even if they knew it was time for the split between the quarterback and franchise, likely share the same bittersweet emotions that Rodgers conveyed in his goodbye.
