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The New York Jets shared the first look of quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his new uniform on their social media accounts Wednesday (July 19) to mark the beginning of training camp.
"This is not an AI-generated photo," the Jets tweeted with Rodgers in full pads and his No. 8 jersey.
Rodgers, who wore No. 12 during his entire 18-year career with the Green Bay Packers, switched to No. 8 -- the number he wore during his collegiate career at the University of California -- upon being acquired by the Jets, who retired No. 12 in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath.
Namath had reportedly given Rodgers his blessing to wear No. 12 after Rodgers had publicly expressed his interest to be traded to the Jets in March, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"Although Hall-of-Fame QB Joe Namath gave Aaron Rodgers his blessing to wear No. 12, the new Jets‘ QB is expected to wear No. 8 — the number he wore in college at Cal," Schefter tweeted.
The Packers received three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft -- a first-rounder (No. 13 overall), a second-rounder (No. 42) and a sixth-rounder (No. 207) -- as well as a conditional 2024 second-round pick, which will become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets' offensive plays in 2023, as part of the trade for the four-time NFL MVP, according to Schefter. The Jets also received the Packers' first-round pick (No. 15) and fifth-round pick (No. 170) as part of the trade.
In January, Schefter reported that the Jets were "a very real scenario" in a possible trade for Rodgers even prior to the hiring of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who had previously held the same position in Green Bay and Rodgers had publicly praised following his hiring as the Denver Broncos' head coach last offseason. Rodgers led the NFL's top scoring offense during the first of two consecutive Associated Press Most Valuable Player award-winning seasons in 2020, both of which took place during Hackett's tenure with the Packers.
Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Packers last offseason amid previous reports of being disgruntled with the franchise. The 39-year-old was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons ahead of the 2022 NFL season, which resulted in Green Bay missing the playoffs after clinching a postseason berth during the previous three consecutive seasons and 11 of the past 13 years.
Rodgers leads all Packers quarterbacks with 475 touchdowns and ranks second in franchise history behind only Favre in QB wins (147), completions (5,001) and passing yards (7,660).