Aaron Rodgers embracing expectations: Jets have ‘legitimate chance’ to make Super Bowl

Aaron Rodgers knew his choice to leave Green Bay for New York would bring a circus of attention with him but even with the Hard Knocks crews trailing the Jets daily, the veteran quarterback is staying level. Rodgers believes the Jets have the talent to reach the Super Bowl this season, and he’s embracing those expectations instead of tempering.

“Obviously, there are a lot of expectations,” Rodgers said of New York’s “legitimate chance” at winning it all in 2023. “A lot of people are going to be pulling for us to fall flat — the crows as [Robert] Saleh referred to them.”

“A lot of people are in our corner, too,” Rodgers continued. “Which is a good thing.”

Rodgers, combined with several other former Packers, and second-year stars like Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson have Jets fans and Jets haters alike tuned in to what they’re cooking up in New Jersey.

“We’ve had a lot of attention — before we did ‘Hard Knocks,'” Rodgers said. “Then we did ‘Hard Knocks,’ so there’s some jealousy, for sure. There’s a lot of people either jumping on the bandwagon or jumping [off] the other side.”

“There will be a lot of eyes on us,” Rodgers added. “That could be pressure to some people, that could be expectation, it could be excitement. I choose to look at it as excitement. There’s a lot of people that are going to be tuning in, a lot of people are going to be following along throughout our season. A lot of people are going to have a lot to cheer about, I think.”

Milwaukee pub offers free drinks for Jets losses

A sports bar in Milwaukee will certainly have its contingency of anti-Rodgers fans on Sundays this season. The Wisconsin eatery is offering fans free drinks for the former Packers quarterback’s failures this year.

Jack’s American Pub has volunteered to pay everyone’s drink tab every time the Jets lose in 2023. That sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

There are some caveats, though.

Tabs must be opened 15 minutes prior to a Jets kickoff — so you can’t just wander in off the street, see the Jets are losing, and start downing cold brews.

Additionally, the offer only applies if Rodgers starts and the Jets game does not coincide with a Green Bay game. Per Sports Illustrated, that only happens four times, so there should be 13 other opportunities for fans to get free beverages.

The Jets went 7-10 in the regular season last year. They open action against the Buffalo Bills in primetime on Sept. 11.

On3’s Dustin Schutte contributed to this report.