‘Waking up inside a dream’

NFL

By Brian Costello

August 31, 2023 | 7:07pm

As Aaron Rodgers prepares to enter then next phase of his first season with the Jets — the one that counts — he reiterated Thursday how much he has loved being a part of his new team. 

“I told a friend this has felt like waking up inside of a dream, this whole experience — a beautiful dream,” Rodgers said. “So many times you have a great dream and you wake up and you’re like, ‘I just want to get back into that thing’ and you can’t quite get back into the dream. I’ve woken up inside of that dream it feels like. That’s been really, really special.” 

It has been a love fest between Rodgers and the Jets and their fans since the team acquired him in a trade with the Packers in April.

The four-time MVP quarterback is now about to embark on his first season with the Jets and has elevated expectations for the team to heights not seen in more than a decade. 

Before facing the Bills on Sept. 11, though, Rodgers reflected on what life has been like since he has come to the Jets. 

“There’s a lot of times where I just like look around and say, ‘This is my life now.’ How cool is it?” Rodgers said. “How cool is what happens in the locker room? What happens walking out into the fresh air and the sun setting, a camp night and I’m just thinking, ‘What an awesome day today was,’ because of whatever it was — a conversation I had with Mekhi [Becton], getting to see Billy Turner and catching up with him or some play that happened that was fun that we talked about and wanted to happen or maybe it’s something that’s frustrating and the chance to talk about what happened. And how cool it was to have that conversation and have a growing moment like that or driving to the city and you hit that spot before you go into the tunnel and you’re looking across at the city and going, ‘How cool is my life now?’ 

“I’ve just tried to keep that perspective every day here and it’s been easy because one thing has happened almost every single day that just reminds me that I’m in the right place. I’m where I’m supposed to be and I’m really just loving what this opportunity has given me.” 

Rodgers said sometimes he sits in the quarterbacks meeting room and reflects on how happy he is in his new surroundings. 

“I won’t say it out loud a lot, but I’ll just sit back with the guys in the room and take a second sometimes and [think], ‘How cool is this?’ ” 

The Jets are viewed as a Super Bowl contender with Rodgers at quarterback. It is a remarkable rise for a team that has not made the playoffs since 2010.

Rodgers acknowledged the Jets have gotten a lot of attention, especially being featured on “Hard Knocks” this summer and plenty of people will be rooting against the Jets. 

“There’s a lot of expectations,” Rodgers said. “A lot of people are going to be pulling for us to fall flat. The crows, as [coach Robert] Saleh referred to them. A lot of people are in our corner, which feels pretty good.” 

When he arrived in April, Rodgers said he believed the Jets could be one of the handful of teams that could win the Super Bowl. He said his opinion has not changed in the last four months. 

“I believe that we have a legitimate chance to do it,” Rodgers said. “I’m really impressed by the leadership I’ve seen over the last few months.” 

Rodgers said that he was 90 percent retired before going on his darkness retreat in February.

Now, he is talking about playing multiple years for the Jets. 

“The joy has really returned exponentially for me,” Rodgers said. “It had nothing to do with Green Bay. I think it’s natural when you’re in a place for so long, you know everybody, everything’s the same. There’s some ‘Groundhog Day’ mentality that maybe sneaks in.

“It’s nothing against … I love so many people there and I still talk to a ton of people there. It’s nothing about that. It’s more about the change, new city, new challenges.”