New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be kicking off his 2024 season on Monday night against the 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The Week 1 clash will kind of serve as Rodgers' second attempt at making his official Jets debut since it's pretty difficult to count his short-circuited 2023 campaign as much of anything after the four-time MVP took just four snaps before going down with a season-ending Achilles tendon tear.
There's plenty of his history between Rodgers and the 49ers, dating all the way back to San Francisco famously passing on him in the 2005 NFL Draft, instead choosing quarterback Alex Smith with the No. 1 overall pick. Now, with Rodgers coming to town, that topic is most assuredly a near lock to be brought up, along with the 49ers' four playoff wins over No. 12.
What's also being discussed is the near "make-good" trade in 2021 that would've finally brought Rodgers—a California native who grew up a 49ers fan—to San Francisco when the quarterback had made it crystal clear to the Green Bay Packers that he was unhappy. In reality, Rodgers being dealt to a fierce and familiar NFC rival seemed highly unlikely, but 'Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan understandably couldn't resist reaching out to get a gauge on the possibility—one that quite clearly never came to fruition.
Here's what Rodgers told Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle about that ultimate "what if" type of situation, a scenario that appears to have crossed his mind ever since Shanahan initially made the inquiry.
"I mean, I've thought about that from time to time," Rodgers explained. "And I've had conversations with people who think that's an interesting idea. I don't know. It's one of those 'what if?' things. He [Shanahan] is a phenomenal play-caller. I think he's a fantastic coach. I think anything can work if two people can find a common ground. The common ground for great relationships is respect."
That last line about "relationships" and "respect" comes across like Rodgers might have been taking a veiled shot at someone, but we're not in the business of reading minds.
Regardless, NFL fans will obviously never know how that one would have turned out, but there's no question Rodgers replacing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would have made for a significant upgrade, paired with an insurmountable level of hype. And based on his outward praise for Shanahan, it sounds like the six-time All-Pro would have scurried to the airport and taken the first flight out to the Bay Area.
"So, even though Kyle seems to be—I don't know what the right word is, cause I'm kind of speaking out of turn and don't know him that well," Rodgers continued. "But he seems to be very headstrong, which I think is a phenomenal attribute. It's almost like, had that imaginary world happened, with his genius, what would you actually need to change? (I feel like) it would work because he's a genius and I have a lot of years of experience."
Doubling up on "genius" is not something Rodgers seems to do very often. With such an enormous amount of respect, one can only imagine the type of things that duo could have cooked up together. However, much like anyone else, Rodgers knew the chances were probably slim, as most fans did.
"I thought there was a slim, slim possibility," Rodgers said of Green Bay dealing him to the 49ers. "I just didn't really ever think the Packers would trade me within the conference. There seemed to be some kismet (as) in '05, with me being from Northern California, and San Fran. And as much as it seemed like not the front end of my career, but now the twilight of my career, going back home to my childhood team would have been some fated circumstance, it never really felt like it was gonna be a reality."
The well-known Rodgers-Packers storyline finally came to its dramatic conclusion two years later and now the 40-year-old will once again be coming to Levi's Stadium, this time wearing a Jets uniform but still very much Aaron Rodgers.
For fans of the 49ers, hearing such lofty praise from the Hall of Fame quarterback about the trade that never happened would truly be a painful thought to bounce around the brain if it weren't for San Francisco striking gold by selecting Brock Purdy as their quarterback of the future with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
