Multiple sources expect NY Jets QB target Aaron Rodgers to return to the Packers in 2023

There has been plenty of speculation regarding the future of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason, and no team has been paying attention to the rumor mill more than the NY Jets.

The Jets continue to eye Rodgers as their preferred target with reports indicating that the team is "infatuated" with the future Hall of Famer. While Derek Carr rumors have picked up in recent days following his successful visit with the team, it's clear that Rodgers is still their guy.

The Jets are going to wait on Rodgers to determine his NFL future before they make any moves at the quarterback position. What that future holds remains an unknown. However, numerous reports have suggested that Rodgers might be on his way back to Green Bay once he emerges from his darkness retreat.

ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported on Wednesday that he had a conversation with "a very important Green Bay Packers source," and that source fully expects Rodgers to be back with the Packers in 2023.

SNY's Leger Douzable also suggested that from everything he's hearing, people in the Packers organization expect Rodgers to return next season. Douzable also indicated that Rodgers has apparently returned from his darkness retreat.

The NY Jets might not be able to trade for Aaron Rodgers after all

Ultimately, these reports are still just speculation. It seems as though the Packers believe that Rodgers will return, at least according to these reports, but that doesn't mean he will.

On the other hand, there have also been conflicting reports suggesting that the Packers are done with Rodgers. Longtime Packers reporter Bob McGinn insisted last week that the Packers are "disgusted" by Rodgers and ready to move on.

Fellow Packers reporter Ty Dunne also insisted the same on a recent episode of the Play Like a Jet Podcast. Dunne claimed that, if Rodgers were to return in 2023, it would be as Jordan Love's backup. Needless to say, Rodgers isn't going to do that.

So who do we believe? The most recent reports from Darlington and Douzable? The Packers reports from McGinn and Dunne? It's impossible to say.

The only person who knows what Rodgers is going to do is Rodgers himself, and he might not even have figured that out yet. It is somewhat notable, though, that yesterday's reports have shifted in favor of him returning to Green Bay. That might not be nothing.

The Aaron Rodgers watch continues on. The Jets will undoubtedly be monitoring this situation closely.