Packers CEO Mark Murphy didn't shy away from the fact that he's rooting for former quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets to fail this season.
For the first time in essentially two decades, Green Bay Packers training camp has started and Aaron Rodgers isn't there. Of course, no one is unaware that the quarterback was traded to the New York Jets this offseason after several offseasons of apparent dysfunction and disappointment on the field in the 2022 season missing the playoffs.
As this new era begins for the Packers, though, there are still the after-effects of Rodgers' long tenure and sustained success in Green Bay. Part of that is surely the comparisons that will be relentlessly levied upon Jordan Love. But there's also part of the future still tied to Rodgers.
And for that reason, Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy isn't shying away from his feelings about how Rodgers and the Jets fare in the 2023 season.
Murphy spoke with 97.3 THE GAME out of Milwaukee recently and when asked about what he's hoping to see from Rodgers in his first season with New York. He exclaimed "65%!" before adding that he hopes "everything goes well" but noting he'd really love if Rodgers and the Jets failed to find success this year.
Packers: Mark Murphy rooting for Aaron Rodgers and Jets to fail this season
Why wouldn't Murphy and every Packers fan be rooting for that?
Yes, Rodgers is a franchise legend with nearly a hand-full of MVPs and a Super Bowl ring on top of that. But in forcing his way out of Green Bay, the trade ultimately will net the Packers a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if Rodgers plays at least 65% of the snaps for the Jets this season. And with that, the pick would obviously be substantially better if the Jets don't live up to the hype.
This isn't a case of sour grapes that Murphy is munching on live on-air. Instead, it's simply a businessman in charge of an organization hoping for the best outcome for the franchise in the long run. Another first-round pick and that pick being extremely valuable would clearly be that for the Packers.
Of course, hoping for just a healthy Rodgers to get a first-round pick at all is probably the most likely outcome for the Packers. If he's on the field with the roster that almost made the playoffs last year with Zach Wilson and the big offseason acquisitions, it's hard to imagine the four-win scenario that Murphy is hoping and rooting for.
Dare to dream, though.