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A lot of stories have been written about the supposed strained relationship between Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson last season.
And there is a new one. I will get to it in a second.
But before we continue, it should be pointed out that Wilson hasn’t once criticized Rodgers publicly. It hasn’t happened, even after some disagreements on the practice field last summer.
“I know whatever decision he makes, I’m gonna support him,” Wilson said after the season on Infiniti Sports Network. “And all the guys feel the same … We’re all honored to play with him these last two years.”
He has always taken the high road publicly, so some of these reports are even made-up, or coming from sources close to Wilson.
Zach Rosenblatt, who is part of The Athletic cabal that has turned the Jets world upside down the last couple of years with blockbuster stories painting the picture of a dysfunctional football operation, wrote recently, “By the end of last season, Wilson and Rodgers weren’t exactly the best of friends. A relationship that started with promise ended with each taking subtle shots at each other in press conferences. Privately, Rodgers complained about Wilson’s tendency to freelance on routes, and there was frustration from Wilson — and others — about how Rodgers was funneling targets to Davante Adams, shying away from running the ball and ignoring Wilson in the red zone.”
Since Wilson has never said a bad word publicly about Rodgers, I can’t confirm one way or the other that he had issues with Rodgers.
Rich Cimini said last December on his podcast: “[I] talk to people in Garrett Wilson’s circle: They think—now I wanna emphasize this is speculation on their part—they think he will ask for a trade after the season.”
“Wilson has not requested a trade, but if Rodgers is back, that is one of the options for how to proceed,” wrote NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport in late December.
I’m not sure where they got this from, but Wilson is represented by CAA, which is often a source of wonderful inside information for reporters, some of whom they represent.
But you know what, what is that old saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”
All off-season, we heard about how great it would be for Wilson to be reunited with one of his college quarterbacks at Ohio State, Justin Fields, who the Jets signed in March.
Let’s see how that turns out.
Hey, it could turn out fantastic, but it’s hard to argue that Fields sees the field as well as Rogers, or goes through his progressions as smoothly.
Fields is a much better athlete than Rodgers, better at making plays with his feet and extending plays, but Rodgers is the better pocket passer.
And last year, even with all this supposed discord going on, Wilson had a career-high 101 catches with Rodgers under center. And on one of the greatest NFL catches of all time, in the back of the end zone against Houston, Rodgers is the one who made that throw. While it was a fantastic catch by Wilson, the throw was pretty darn impressive as well in terms of ball placement in a congested area.
So maybe pump the brakes on how it’s going to be lollipops and roses with Wilson now being with a QB whom he reportedly gets along with a lot better than Rodgers.
Let’s see what happens if Fields misses a wide-open Wilson a few times or is off target to him a few times. Let’s see how he deals with it.
Hey, the reunion of Fields-Wilson could turn out great, but let’s see how it goes first, and how happy the WR turns out to be with his friend under center instead of Rodgers.
We shall see.
Let’s check back with each other during the season on this front.
June 25, 2025
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