Garrett Wilson admits Jets players seemingly fooled into thinking Aaron Rodgers signing was imminent

Zac Al-Khateeb

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Garrett Wilson admits Jets players seemingly fooled into thinking Aaron Rodgers signing was imminent image

All signs on Monday afternoon pointed toward Aaron Rodgers agreeing to a trade between the Packers and Jets — at least, according to several tweets by New York players that seemed to suggest a move was imminent.

Optimism toward the free-agent signing of the 2023 NFL offseason reached a fever pitch with receiver Garrett Wilson sending several tweets indicating Rodgers finally was ready to announce his decision, and on the first day of NFL free agency. Wilson, of course, would get to catch throws from one of the premier signal-callers of the NFL since the mid-2000s.

But that optimism slowly faded to the reality that, as of Monday, Rodgers would not make any decision regarding his NFL future — whether that be in Green Bay, New York or nowhere at all.

And for Garrett Wilson, who helped spread the speculation, had to admit... he was duped. 

The one report that that seemed to hook Wilson, however, was from Trey Wingo, via Dov Kleiman:

𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is being traded to the #Jets, per @wingoz

"It's done." pic.twitter.com/k2L3SlfOnp

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 13, 2023

That tweet sent Jets fans and players into a frenzy, including Breece Hall, Sauce Gardner and Wilson:

MORE: Aaron Rodgers trade tracker: Latest news, rumors on Jets, Raiders, as QB determines NFL future

MORE: Jets players perform cheesehead-burning ritual in attempt to woo Aaron Rodgers

As hours passed with no breakthrough in the Rodgers sweepstakes, Wilson revealed he was merely reacting to what he thought was confirmation of Rodgers to the Jets from Kleiman, who hedged his tweet by saying he was only aggregating news from Wingo:

Monday's sequence of events followed a social media campaign by several Jets players in an attempt to woo Rodgers to come to New York, including a humorous cheesehead-burning ritual. The Jets also lost quarterback Mike White to free agency on Monday, making for more room in the Packers' quarterback room for Rodgers.

Room that, as of now, remains unfilled by Rodgers.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.