Aaron Rodgers is on a good trajectory with the New York Jets who seem to have a pact to pack the team with star players this season. However, looking back at Rodgers’ final year with the Packers, NFL legend Kurt Warner believes that it was the QB’s lack of trust in Green Bay due to which he didn’t have an MVP-level season.
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Aaron Rodgers, who has four MVPs to his name, is certainly one of the most capable quarterbacks in the league. His back-to-back MVP seasons in 2020 and 2021 did create a lot of hype about his run in 2022/23, which he failed to deliver. Moreover, months after the QB’s trade-off to New York, Kurt Warner reckons that no one but the veteran QB himself should be blamed for his dismal 2022 season.
Kurt Warner Feels Aaron Rodgers Wasn’t His Usual Self Around The Packers’ Last Season
Hall of Famer Warner, in his recent appearance on the Rich Eisen show, had a lot to say about Aaron Rodgers and most of it was about his failure to lead the Packers in his final last dance with them. Warner felt that Rodgers’ inability to inspire the Packers’ offense had a lot to do with him not being able to trust his O-Line.
Warner was of the opinion that the inexperience among the offensive players did not allow Rodgers to make his usual plays, which he would otherwise make quite easily. This lack of confidence in turn affected the overall performance of the team and they could not overcome it in the end.
“What I felt like Aaron struggled with last year was trusting his guys. There were times that you watch plays, and you go ‘Gosh Aaron, you gotta throw that, you got to make that play,’ that’s something you’ve done a million times and you’re not doing that this year,” Kurt stated.
“We can look at that and go, Aaron didn’t play very well which… But I believe a big part of it was that lack of trust, and he just wouldn’t go back and pull the trigger and do some of the things that you’re accustomed to him doing, because he just didn’t know what guys around him were going to do,” Warner said about Rodgers’ struggles in the 2022/23 season.
Rodgers too hinted towards this fact quite a few times during the season by publicly criticizing his young wide receivers for their inefficiency. He himself received plenty of criticism for doing so.
Aaron Rodgers Endured One Of His Worst Ever Seasons in 2022/23
Aaron Rodgers ended his 18-year-long association with the Packers on a low, as the franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Packers finished third in the NFC North division with an 8-9 record, making it their first losing season since 2018. Rodgers personally had a torrid time at the heart of their offense.
He threw for just 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, numbers that are way below expectations from the four-time NFL MVP. The 12 interceptions were the most recorded by Rodgers in a single season since 2008, and it perfectly detailed his struggles on the gridiron.
Kurt Warner’s assessment of Rodgers’ final season in Green Bay makes a lot of sense considering the fact that the quarterback also had to deal with the departure of premier wide receiver, Davante Adams, who left the franchise in the offseason. The other wide receivers were never able to make up the void left by Adams, and hence Rodgers’ numbers too took a big hit. Now when looks settled in the Jets’ outfit, Aaron fans are positive about him churning out better numbers this year.
