Watch Jets Star Sauce Gardner Burn His Packers Cheesehead In An Aaron Rodgers Recruitment Video
Let's wind the clocks back to mid-October. A Sauce Gardner-led New York Jets defense dominates Aaron Rodgers and the Packers 27-10 at Lambeau Field. Sauce decides it'd be cheeky to snag a cheesehead to put on top of his dome. A coronation of sorts designed to get under the skin of everyone in Green Bay.
Until whatever remained of Zach Wilson's confidence was snuffed out and Breece Hall's devastating injury, the Jets looked like a team destined for the playoffs. They even won their next game at Denver to improve to 5-2. Goes to show just how fast your fortunes can change in the NFL. Suddenly, Gang Green is in the market for a quarterback, and Rodgers is at the top of their wish list.
Based on the fact that Jets brass met recently with Rodgers, and there appears to be strong mutual interest, it could be any day now that a deal goes down anyway.
But you have to admire the hustle from Sauce here. Dude isn't resting on his laurels from being Defensive Rookie of the Year even though my guy Tariq Woolen deserved it. Sad but true, you know it Jets fans. He's out here already taking a leadership role by recruiting top-flight talent, flanked by Hall and another first-year phenom in wideout Garrett Wilson.
In the video that is the subject of this blog, Hall even says to Rodgers in reference to the talent and skill position prowess of the young Jets, "You know what you're going to have out here. You might as well make that move."
Garrett Wilson addressed the camera directly to implore Rodgers to choose the Jets: "I need you to lock in. I need you to come here so we can win a Super Bowl."
BY THE WAY, there's also this:
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If you connect those dots, not hard to deduce that we may or may not have a package deal of Rodgers and Odell Beckham Jr. to the Jets. Holy shit would that be something!
Although Sauce does say he and Rodgers had a conversation and hashed out their differences, ARodg doesn't strike me as a guy who forgets any single slight thrown his way. He might've been skeptical that the rookie was genuine about his apology. For all the self-love and introspective exploration he's doing of late, Rodgers still has to be super petty at his core. Whether the cheesehead thing ever really pissed him off or not, this was a power move by Sauce to confirm that he was sorry about the cheesehead stunt and to quell any sort of butthurtness or hard feelings over that antagonizing celebration.
Sauce and the Jets realize they're an above-average quarterback away from positioning themselves for at least a playoff win. The problem is, the AFC is so stacked at QB that they need Rodgers to have a remote chance. Rodgers has one of his best pals in Nathaniel Hackett installed as offensive coordinator already. If he's going to leave the Packers, there aren't many better fits for him out there.
Can't wait to see how this turns out. Sauce has gone above and beyond to do his part in luring Rodgers to the team. Now we all wait as an entire franchise's immediate fate rests in the hands of one of pro sports' biggest drama kings.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok