There could be a bright side for Zach Wilson in backing up Aaron Rodgers.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas and assistant GM Rex Hogan spoke to reporters on Tuesday as the trade with the Packers for Rodgers is expected to be finalized before the 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday.
Douglas was asked about Wilson backing up Rodgers, and whether the new starting quarterback has offered to be a mentor for Wilson.
“I feel like this is gonna be a great thing for Zach,” Douglas said.
“I spoke to guys at the Combine, and Zach’s ceiling is unlimited. No one works harder, no one loves ball more than Zach Wilson. Him having the opportunity to really shadow and be with a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback every day, every hour he’s in the building, that’s a great opportunity and a great experience.”
Wilson was benched for Mike White last season after a combination of inconsistent play and a failure to take personal accountability for a poor offensive performance in a loss against the Patriots.
On Monday, Wilson’s mother, Lisa, reacted to the news that Rodgers would be joining the Jets with three clapping emojis, and a separate photo of Rodgers and her son together at a joint practice between the Jets and the Packers taken during training camp in 2021.
Wilson has spoken numerous times about how he looked up to Rodgers while growing up.
“As long as I can remember playing football, I was a big fan,’’ Wilson said of Rodgers last October, during the week prior to the Jets defeating the Packers. “We didn’t have an NFL team in Utah, so I wouldn’t say I was a Packers fan, but I was just an Aaron Rodgers fan. I grew up watching him. He was the quarterback I tried to replicate and steal things from. I like the way he plays the game.’’
In January, on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers spoke about what type of advice he’d give Wilson.
“I met him before the draft and then they came and practiced against us in the preseason, some of those inter-squad practices [in August 2021]. … I think he’s super talented,” Rodgers said.
“For him, it’s just gonna be leaning into humility and consistently working on the fundamentals. … I hope that whoever they decide to go with at coordinator can come in and work with him and break down a lot of the fundamentals for him and get him playing on time because I think he’s talented enough to have a long career in the league.”
Wilson, ironically, pledged to make life difficult for a veteran quarterback acquired by the Jets in a training camp competition.
On Monday, after months of speculation and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The trade immediately upgrades the Jets from rising team to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will help break one of the longest active postseason droughts in sports.
The Jets receive: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 pick (2023) and No. 170 pick (2023).
The Packers receive: No. 13 pick (2023), No. 42 pick (2023), No. 207 pick (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft pick that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ plays in 2023.
The trade still needs to be finalized — the terms of Rodgers’ contract need to be worked out — and sent to the NFL.
Both teams will begin feeling this deal as early as Thursday at the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Green, it’s about getting a whole host of new faces on the same page offensively.
The 39-year-old was out and about in Calabasas, Calif. when he got word of the trade, all smiles as he picked up coffee and groceries. For Rodgers and Jets fans, it’s hopefully just the beginning of their good times.
Read more of The Post’s Aaron Rodgers coverage
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“I’m going to make that dude’s life hell in practice every day,” Wilson said in January. “I’m going to go out there and do my best to show the coaches that I deserve to be there. It’s not in a negative way, it’s a positive way. It’s making everybody else better.”
