Packers give permission for Jets to talk to Rodgers
Green Bay Packers President/ CEO Mark Murphy confirmed that the team granted the New York Jets permission to talk with Aaron Rodgers and would honor a trade request if the four-time MVP quarterback makes one.
Murphy made those comments Friday while speaking during a broadcast of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association girls’ basketball championships that aired on Green Bay television station WCWF.
“We’re really hopeful that we can reach a resolution that works not only for Aaron but for us,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s comments follow reports that Jets owner Woody Johnson, Coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas visited Rodgers’s home in Southern California this week.
Murphy said he wanted a resolution on Rodgers’s future by the start of free agency Wednesday.
Rodgers, 39, earned MVP honors with the Packers in 2020 and 2021 but is coming off a 2022 season in which he had his lowest passer rating as a starter and threw 12 interceptions, his highest total since 2008.
• DOLPHINS: In a move that reaffirms Miami’s confidence in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it is exercising his fifth-year option for the 2024 season.
Tagovailoa set career highs in passing touchdowns, passing yards and passer rating in 2022 but missed 5 1/2 games, including Miami’s playoff loss, because of two stints in the concussion protocols.
• RAMS: Los Angeles released pass-rushing linebacker Leonard Floyd in a cost-cutting move after three productive seasons. Floyd led the Rams last season with nine sacks.
• 49ERS: Quarterback Brock Purdy had surgery on his injured throwing elbow that should allow him to return to play as early as the start of next season.
• VIKINGS: Minnesota released wide receiver Adam Thielen for salary cap relief, nearly 10 years after he latched on with the team as an undrafted underdog out of Division II Minnesota State.
In 135 games with the Vikings, Thielen has 55 touchdown catches, third most in franchise history behind Cris Carter (110) and Randy Moss (92). Thielen is also third in receptions behind Carter (1,004) and Moss (587) with 534.
• PATRIOTS: Safety Devin McCourty announced his retirement after spending his entire 13-season career with New England, winning three Super Bowl rings and being named to three secondteam all-pro teams.
• EAGLES: NFC champion Philadelphia signed veteran defensive end Brandon Graham to a one-year contract. Terms were not announced.
Graham, 34, a first-round pick in 2010, had 11 sacks last season, reaching double digits for the first time in his career.
• CARDINALS: Arizona signed exclusive-rights free agent wide receiver Greg Dortch to a one-year deal and released veteran linebacker Markus Golden.
Dortch had career highs of 52 catches for 467 yards and two touchdowns last season.
• TITANS: Tennessee released 11-year veteran center Ben Jones a year after signing him to a twoyear extension.
• RAIDERS: Offensive tackle Brandon Parker and tight end Jesper Horsted re-signed with Las Vegas.
• OBITUARY: Otis Taylor, the longtime Kansas City wide receiver who along with quarterback Len Dawson formed one of the NFL’S dynamic duos and helped the team win its first Super Bowl trophy, died Thursday. He was 80.
Taylor’s family, who had been caring for him as he dealt with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, confirmed that he had died a mere seven months after Dawson, his close friend.