Getty Former Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
Adam Schefter of ESPN shared the blockbuster trade news involving the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and Aaron Rodgers at 4:17 pm ET on Monday, April 24.
We had to wait until the next morning to get the reactions from ESPN’s Get Up television show and the results didn’t disappoint.
Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan wore an old-school Jets jacket, made some bold promises, and even dished out some trash talk.
“This happens to be Super Bowl III [pointing to his finger], my dad’s Super Bowl ring right here. Why am I wearing it? Because the Jets are going! Watch out everybody, here come the Jets! We haven’t had this type of quarterback maybe ever or since [Joe] Namath.
This is it, this is the missing piece [referencing Rodgers] for the New York Jets right here. Guess what all you fans in the AFC East, it ain’t no fun when the rabbits got the gun ’cause we got the gun right now. It is on!
Our defense is better than yours, our quarterback is better than yours, it is on, this is a great move right here. [The Jets] have a playoff-caliber defense and now you got the quarterback. Watch out the entire National Football League, we just put you on notice, and guess what? We are going to kick your butt, here we come Jets!”
Rex Ryan’s Passionate Connection to the Jets
The late Buddy Ryan, Rex’s father, earned a Super Bowl III championship ring while serving as the Jets’ defensive line coach.
He was with the team from 1968 through 1975. Buddy passed away in June of 2016 at 85 years of age.
34 years after Buddy left the Jets his son Rex Ryan ended up being hired by the team as their new head coach in 2009.
He was known for his brash style and colorful personality. The fans were in love at first sight and Ryan delivered results.
In his first two seasons in New York, he brought the Jets to the AFC Championship game in back-to-back years.
That was the last time New York made the postseason and they currently hold the longest active NFL drought at 12 years running.
All in all, Ryan lasted six seasons with the Jets, and after his coaching career was over he transitioned into the television world as an NFL analyst for ESPN.
Awesome Jets Reactions to Aaron Rodgers-Packers Trade News
Mike Greenberg, the host of Get Up, kicked off the Monday, April 25 show with a Jets celebration following the Rodgers trade news.
The television studio lit up green, Greenberg exclaimed, “Aaron Rodgers is a New York Jet”, and he was carried around the studio by 12-year NFL veteran and former Jet Damien Woody.
It has been a long time coming. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN first reported that the Jets and Packers started talking before the Super Bowl in early February.
The trade wasn’t officially announced on social media until nearly three months later on Monday, April 24.
It was a long winding road from point A to point B, but at the end of the day the trade that was expected to happen ultimately did.
