23 June 2023 , 15:23
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Aaron Rodgers has been told he will have a big influence on the shape of the New York Jets offense as he prepares for his first season with the franchise.
Rodgers will be under center for "Gang Green" in 2023 after being traded by the Green Bay Packers in April, and the 39-year-old has been busy working with his new coaches and teammates at organised team activities (OTAs) and minicamp at the Jets' Florham Park base.
There are familiar faces for Rodgers in New York, with Nathaniel Hackett, who was the offensive coordinator in Green Bay from 2019-21 before an ill-fated season as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Hackett was running the offense for two of Rodgers' four NFL MVP awards and the Jets hope the duo being reunited will bring the best out of the quarterback again.
After 18 seasons in the league, Hackett says Rodgers has earned the right to have "freedom" and an influence on the shape of the offense, just like he did with the Packers.
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“I just want to see Aaron play some of the best football he’s ever played in his career,” Hackett told The Season With Peter Schrager podcast. “That was something that was so fun to be a part of when we were at Green Bay, and I want to see him get to where he wants to be, accomplish what he wants to accomplish.
“I think there’s going to be some freedom with Aaron, and as we moved forward in the Green Bay system, there was definitely more freedom as we went.
Aaron Rodgers has been working with his new teammates at Florham Park. (Getty Images)“We’re just going to continue that because you’ve got to take advantage of a guy like Aaron that is so smart and understands it.
"So, (we are) trying to build this thing for him and build it so that when he sees certain things, he can do all kinds of stuff and put us in the best position possible.”
After a disastrous season in charge of the Broncos, underpinned by quarterback Russell Wilson's surprising regression after being acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in a huge trade before the start of the 2022 campaign, Hackett is pleased to be in a role where he is not the centre of attention.
"It's not about me. It isn't," he added. "The only thing I would say that it is about me is I just want to be the best version of myself.
"If I can then portray that to those players, then they're gonna be able to get out on that field and they're gonna be able to execute at a high level, and that's all that I want."