Green Bay will always have a place in Aaron Rodgers' heart. The longtime Packers quarterback said as much this offseason. But now, with his anticipated Jets debut fast approaching, Rodgers appears to be in the thick of a honeymoon phase with his new squad, telling reporters Thursday his move to New York has been "a beautiful dream," and that this is undeniably "where [he's] supposed to be."
"[This] has felt like waking up inside of a dream, this whole experience," Rodgers said, via The Athletic. "A beautiful dream. So many times you have a great dream and you wake up and you think, 'I just want to get back into that, but I can't quite get back into the dream.' I've woken up inside of that dream and it's been really, really special. There's a lot of times -- I've said it before and I'll say it again -- where I just look around and say, 'This is my life now.' How cool is this?"
"It happens in the locker room," Rodgers continued, "it happens walking out and it's the fresh air and the sun setting. It's just [thinking] what an awesome day it was because of whatever it was -- a conversation I had with [right tackle] Mekhi [Becton], getting to see Billy Turner and catch up with him, a play that happened that really was fun ... or we're driving to the city and you hit that spot before you go in the tunnel and you're looking across to the city going, 'How cool is my life now?' I just try 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 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."
If Rodgers sounds less like a soon-to-be 40-year-old QB and more like a child, well, that's been apparent inside Jets facilities since the day he arrived. Star cornerback Sauce Gardner recently told CBS Sports that Rodgers carries an unusual "swag" even at 39, after 18 years in the league, and "acts much younger" both on and off the field.
Who knows whether the "beautiful dream" will continue into a season already stuffed with Super Bowl hopes, but it's safe to say, for now, that Rodgers is enjoying the fresh scenery in the Big Apple.
