GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy confirmed that the team granted the New York Jets permission to talk with Aaron Rodgers and would honor a trade request if the four-time MVP quarterback makes one.
Murphy made those comments Friday while speaking during a broadcast of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association girls basketball championships that aired on Green Bay television station WCWF.
“We’re really hopeful that we can reach a resolution that works not only for Aaron but for us,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s comments follow reports that Jets owner Woody Johnson, coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas visited Rodgers’ home in southern California earlier this week.
Rodgers, 39, has said since the end of the season that he’s still deciding whether to return to the Packers, request a trade or retire. Rodgers also has noted the possibility the Packers might want to move on and hand the starting quarterback job to 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love.
Murphy was asked if there’s any scenario in which Rodgers returns as the Packers’ starting quarterback. Murphy said he could envision that possibility but added that “I think it’s trying to find what he wants and what we want. Hopefully we can find a win-win situation.”
Murphy said he wanted a resolution on Rodgers’ future by the start of free agency on Wednesday.
“It’s in everybody’s interest to resolve it sooner rather than later,” Murphy said.
Murphy also addressed the topic in a separate interview with Green Bay television station WBAY.
“Very few players play for only one team,” Murphy told WBAY. “Obviously Brett (Favre) had a great career. Aaron had a great career here. Regardless of what happens, Aaron will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’ll be in our Hall of Fame. We’ll bring him back, retire his number. This is just one of the things that we go through as a team. We want to try to achieve something that’s good for both Aaron and us.”
Rodgers earned MVP honors with the Packers in 2020 and 2021 but is coming off a 2022 season in which he had his lowest passer rating as a starter and threw 12 interceptions, his highest total since 2008. The Packers went 8-9 and missed the playoffs to end a string of three straight NFC North titles.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won 41-17. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)