Aaron Rodgers says he loves his old Packers teammates. In fact, he still keeps in touch with several players, a coach and those who work for the team.
It’s true that Rodgers, the new Jets quarterback, is embracing everything about NYC, and more specifically, Florham Park, N.J. He’s being photographed at various events with his new friends. But he’s staying in touch with the guys he left. He discussed the topic this week during an interview on the "Up & Adams" podcast. Rodgers was asked if he stays in contact with the old group.
“Oh … definitely,” Aaron Rodgers said. “I talked to Jordan (Love) on the eve of training camp. Talk to Matt (LeFleur). Still talk to a lot of people over there. I talked to Rasul (Douglas) recently. I’m always in touch with Preston (Smith) and love those guys, man. There’s so many guys I really care about over there.
“A lot of people hit me up because I’m older are the workers, you know so talking to so many people who’ve been there forever. And I love that place. You know that chapter is closed for now. All right, you’ll know the the epilogue at some point. But yeah, a lot of love and gratitude for (the Packers).”
Of course, the Jets already signed several former Packers, including receiver Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard. Plus, reserve quarterback Tim Boyle was a teammate of Rodgers when he played for the Packers in 2019-20. And Nathaniel Hackett, the Jets offensive coordinator, coached Rodgers when both were with Green Bay. So you can call the Jets, Lambeau-adjacent.
Douglas and Rodgers were so close that the quarterback left his phone with Douglas when he went on the now infamous darkness retreat. Suddenly, Douglas became the most popular person on Packers Twitter with fans asking him what Rodgers planned to do.
Smith, the outside linebacker, is in Rodgers’ age range. He’s one of three players older than 30 on the Packers' very young roster. And he’s the oldest on defense. So, Rodgers' departure moved him up in overall team seniority.
Rodgers also remains close with offensive lineman David Bakhtiari.
The Packers plan on honoring Rodgers once he retires. They’re not going to ignore the fact he helped them win a Super Bowl and played there for 18 seasons.
At a shareholders meeting last month, team president Mark Murphy said of Rodgers: “We will bring him back and retire his number at the appropriate time.”
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