Aaron Rodgers Persuaded Veteran to Put Off Retirement & Join Jets

Getty New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers at media availability after he was traded by the Green Bay Packers.

Notch another dub in the win column for Aaron Rodgers.

New York Jets wide receiver Randall Cobb revealed on “The Carton Show” that he was “considering retirement” this offseason and A-Rod coaxed him out of it.

“It was like a movie for me. I’m watching TV, I got my popcorn in my lap, and I was waiting to see how it all played out,” Cobb explained on the June 14 episode of the show.

“I had a feeling that it would be a good potential that [Rodgers] would have the opportunity to go to New York, but for myself I didn’t know how it was going to play out. I’m going into year No. 13 right now I didn’t know if I was actually going to play or not. I was actually considering retiring and then Aaron called me. [He was like] hey [New York] may be an opportunity here for you, we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Aaron Rodgers’ Jets Recruiting Pitch to Randall Cobb Revealed

Cobb sent a message to a group chat this offseason featuring a bunch of his former teammates and said, “I think I’m done.”

Longtime Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones revealed that Cobb said he was “50-50” on whether or not he would play football in 2023.

“When he told me it was 50-50, I said well you not done then,” Jones explained on “The Carton Show.” “You shouldn’t even be thinking about it if you 50-50. When I retired I knew. I was 97 percent done, I was up out of there. So when he said 50-50, I said you not done yet.”

Cobb said a simple Rodgers message this offseason sold him on continuing his football career.

“He hit me up and told me that he needed me. That is all I needed to hear,” Cobb said. “That let me know that I know I still have value to add as a player. I know I have value to add as a guy in the locker room. The things that you [referencing his former Packers teammates] did for me as a rookie now I’m able to give back to some of the younger players.”

Cobb originally entered the league as the No. 64 overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft. Cobb has been a teammate of Rodgers for 10 of his 12 seasons to date, 2023 will mark their No. 11 season together on the football field.

Garrett Wilson Revealed Jets’ Robert Saleh Pep Speech to Cobb

After the Jets signed Cobb it didn’t take long for his new teammates to let him know what transpired in 2022.

In Week 6 of last season, the Jets beat the Packers 27-10.

Craig Carton asked Cobb who was the first guy that reminded you about that?

“They definitely let me know, G-Dub was probably the first one,” Cobb explained on “The Carton Show.” “He came up to me [and said head coach Robert] Saleh had a whole speech. We played in London the week before we played [the Jets] last year and normally teams take a bye after London. You get to pick the team that you’re playing after the London game and he was like they chose us, they chose us! He let me know that they had us.”

Instead of the Packers taking a bye week after its game against the New York Giants in London in 2022 they decided to immediately play another game. Saleh used that as motivation heading into the game telling the team that Green Bay chose to play the Jets.