Has the meeting between Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets actually ended? Flight records seem to imply they could still be in California.
The New York Jets made their way to California to court Aaron Rodgers, who they hope to trade with the Green Bay Packers for, on Tuesday. While Rodgers has yet to formally decide heāll return to play in the 2023 season, the latest rumors seem to indicate heās leaning toward a return. His team, though? Thatās unclear.
The meetings appear to be ongoing, but thereās some conflicting information about whether or not the Jets have headed back East or if theyāre continuing to meet with Rodgers on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, The Athleticās reporter Matt Schneidman reported that Woody Johnsonās plane departed LAX and headed back East late Tuesday night.
Digging into the flight records and the nature of the private flight, I think itās quite possible the Jets visit has not ended yet, though.
Jets took a rideshare jet service to California
The Jets did not take a Woody Johnson-owned plane to California. They used a fractional ownership company called NetJets that is essentially a membership for people who want to fly private jets without having to have the burden of owning a jet and maintaining it.
So, these jets are passed from customer to customer frequently based on the needs of NetJets and their clients.
With that in mind, letās look at the locations and timelines of the flights, which donāt add up to suggest that the Jets have gone back to New York just yet.
Hereās a full timeline of the flights, all according to RadarBox.com:
- Jets fly from Morristown, New Jersey to Camarillo Airport. They land at 12:49 p.m. PT
- The same plane flies from Camarillo to LAX, departing at 1:58 p.m. PT
- The plane departs LAX for White Plains, New York at 11:26 p.m. PT and lands in White Plains at 6:38 a.m. ET on Wednesday
Why would the Jets contingent land in Camarillo only to fly to LAX an hour later? Secondly, why would they return to White Plains, New York, instead of Morristown, NJ? Westchester County Airport in White Plains is 66 miles from the Jets front office, Morristownās airport is just eight miles.
While itās possible the Jets re-routed to LAX and then to White Plains, it feels inconvenient for everyone involved.Ā Itās possible Schneidman has sources indicating the Packers are on this flight, though, so it canāt be said with certainty that the Jets havenāt headed home looking just at flight logs.
Looking purely at the flight logs and nature of NetJets, though, more likely than the Jets being linked to this flight the entire time is that the customer was routed to a different NetJets customer at LAX who took the plane to White Plains.
No planes have landed in Morristown, NJ from NetJets from California since the Jets contingency left for the West Coast.
Itās quite possible the team and Rodgers are continuing to meet on Wednesday.
UPDATE:Ā ESPNāsĀ Kimberly Martin reported that the Jets brass is expected to leave California at some point Wednesday morning. A trip departing Camarillo has yet to populate on flight schedules. Neither has a trip arriving in Morristown originating in California.Ā