Aaron Rodgers was feeling down while stuck in traffic late Monday night after the New York Jets suffered another tough loss.
“I had a couple of messages,” Rodgers said during his weekly chat on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday. “I was just not in the mood to talk to anybody.”
Then, his close friend and former Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams reached out with some news: they would be playing together again.
The Jets traded for Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, giving up a conditional third-round pick in next year’s draft that could turn into a second-rounder.
“It’s bittersweet because of what happened last night,” Rodgers said, referring to the Jets’ 23-20 loss to Buffalo. “But, you know, it’s exciting.
Tae and I have done a lot of great things over the years. He’s made me look good a lot of times. So, I’m really excited about it. I think it’s exciting for our team. “We definitely got better today.”
However, the big question is how much this will really help a team that is currently 2-4, has lost three straight games, fired coach Robert Saleh last week, and replaced him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. They also changed play callers, moving from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing.
Adams brings a lot of confidence to Rodgers. In their eight seasons together, Adams has caught 615 passes for 7,517 yards and 68 touchdowns from Rodgers, the highest numbers among active players.
“Not only an elite player, as we all know,” Ulbrich said. “But the relationship with him and Aaron just takes his value to a whole other space for us. So, I’m super excited.”
Adams, who missed three games due to a hamstring injury, joins a crowded group of wide receivers, including Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mike Williams, Xavier Gipson, and rookie Malachi Corley.
“I think we’ll figure that out in the next couple of days, how all these pieces kind of fit together,” Ulbrich said. “It’s an exciting and a good problem to have because we’ve got a lot of different guys with a lot of different skill sets that can do a lot of things, so Todd and his staff will have some sleepless nights with some good problems.”
However, some of the team’s issues still need attention, even with Adams joining. Ulbrich’s defense struggles to stop the run, as seen when rookie Ray Davis gained 97 of the Bills’ 149 rushing yards against them.
The Jets also committed 11 penalties—though Rodgers argued some were “ridiculous.” They only converted 1 of 4 chances in the red zone, and the offensive line has not been protecting their 40-year-old quarterback well, allowing him to be sacked three times and hit five times.
“We’ve got to put four quarters together,” Ulbrich said, “and when we do that, we’re going to be a problem.”
