Is the meeting between Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets really over? Flight logs seem to indicate they are still in California.
The New York Jets made their way to California to court Aaron Rodgers, whom they hope to trade to the Green Bay Packers, on Tuesday. While Rodgers has not yet officially decided that he will return to play in the 2023 season, recent rumors seem to indicate that he is leaning towards a return. His team, though? This is not clear.
Meetings appear to be continuing, but there is some conflicting information about whether or not the Jets have returned east or if they will continue to meet with Rodgers on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, The Athletic reporter Matt Schneidman reported that Woody Johnson’s plane left LAX and returned east late Tuesday night.
Jets owner Woody Johnson’s private jet departed from LAX at 11:26 p.m. PT bound for New York after nearly 11 hours in Southern California and one day courting Aaron Rodgers.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) March 8, 2023
Going through the flight logs and the nature of the private flight, I think it is very likely that the planes visit is not over yet.
The planes took a jet trip to California
Fighter Jets never took a Woody Johnson-owned plane to California. They used a part ownership company called NetJets which is basically a membership for people who want to fly private jets without having to go through the burden of owning and maintaining a plane.
Therefore, these aircraft are frequently passed from client to client based on the needs of NetJets and their customers.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the locations and flight schedules, which don’t add up to indicate that planes have returned to New York yet.
Here’s a full flight schedule, all according to RadarBox.com:
Planes fly from Morristown, New Jersey to Camarillo Airport. Landing at 12:49 PM PST, same plane flying from Camarillo to LAX, departing at 1:58 PM PST. The plane departs LAX for White Plains, NY at 11:26 PM PT and lands in White Plains at 6:38 AM ET. Wednesday
Why would a battalion land at Camarillo only to fly to LAX an hour later? Second, why would they go back to White Plains, New York, instead of Morristown, NJ? Westchester County Airport in White Plains is 66 miles from the Jets front office, and Morristown Airport is just eight miles away.
While it is possible to redirect Jets to LAX and then to White Plains, it feels uncomfortable for everyone involved. Schneidman likely had sources indicating the Packers were on this flight, so it can’t be said with certainty that the Jets didn’t head home just by looking at the flight logs.
And given just the flight logs and the corporate nature of NetJets, it’s more than likely that the planes were associated with this flight all along that the customer was directed to a different NetJets customer at LAX who took the plane to White Plains.
No Jets have landed in Morristown, NJ from California’s NetJets since the Jets’ emergency departure for the West Coast.
The team with Rodgers will likely continue to meet on Wednesday.
to update: ESPN’s Kimberly Martin reports that the Jets’ coppers are expected to leave California sometime Wednesday morning. The flight departing from Camarillo is not yet published in the flight schedules. There is no flight connecting to Morristown originating in California.
