Getty Image
While Aaron Rodgers was obviously desperate to leave Green Bay towards the end of his time with the Packers, one aspect that likely made his departure difficult is his friendship with offensive tackle and fellow conspiracy theorist David Bakhtiari.
Clearly still having a solid rapport with Bakhtiari, Rodgers poked fun at the 31-year-old lineman on Instagram by calling him out for “probably laying around getting fat.”
Similar to Rodgers (prior to his trade to the New York Jets, at least), Bakhtiari has spent his entire career with the Green Bay Packers after being drafted by the organization in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Rodgers, of course, was traded to the Jets back in April after spending the first 17 seasons of his career with the Packers.
The bookmakers certainly think that life for Bakhtiari and the rest of the Packers without Rodgers is going to be difficult this year, as most sportsbooks currently have Green Bay pegged to finish fourth in the NFC North behind the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears.
Following the departure of Rodgers, the Packers will now be turning to Jordan Love as their starting signal-caller. Love, 24 years old, was drafted by the Packers in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and has made just one start in his NFL career thus far.
As for Rodgers and the Jets, they’re expected to be Super Bowl contenders despite being the owners of the longest postseason drought in the NFL, having not qualified for the playoffs since the 2010 season.
At this time, with training camps set to begin in a few weeks, the Jets — thanks to their acquisition of the four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer — currently have the seventh-shortest odds to win the 2023-24 Super Bowl, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Dallas Cowboys.