Tyler Conklin catches Aaron Rodgers’ historic touchdown as part of lucrative day

Everyone expected Davante Adams to be the Jets player to catch Aaron Rodgers’ 500th career touchdown, but it was tight end Tyler Conklin who earned the honor.

Conklin caught a 5-yard pass from Rodgers early in the second quarter to give Rodgers the historic touchdown.

“It was a really cool moment to be a part of,” Conklin said. “I’m happy to be able to do my part and be a part of this. We will see what the future holds for us.”

Rodgers had been stuck at 499 for two weeks after not throwing a touchdown last week in Buffalo, but he got No. 500 out of the way early. in the Jets’ 32-20 victory over the Dolphins.

“It was a play earlier in the week that in the red zone, if they were in certain coverage, that (route) over the middle was going to be open,” Conklin said. “When they rotated to a high one, I felt like I wasn’t going to be open. Then it was stirred and it worked.”

Conklin activated a $250,000 bonus on his contract with his first catch, giving him 50 receptions this season.

Conklin’s teammates congratulated him in the locker room after the game.

Conklin, who had a full season with Rodgers as his quarterback, said he wonders what his career would be like if he played with Rodgers for the entirety of it.

“As a tight end, you look at all the great tight ends and all the tight ends that had successful careers and you tend to see them linked with a quarterback,” Conklin said, “whether it’s Patrick Mahomes and (Travis) Kelce, (Rob Gronkowski ) and (Tom) Brady. Maybe if I had a chance to play with him for a while, maybe it would have been interesting to see how things went.”

Conklin is scheduled to be a free agent in March and Rodgers’ future with the Jets is uncertain, making it unlikely the two will play together again, at least with the Jets.

With the 2024 season complete, the Jets’ 2025 opponents are set.

The Jets’ home games will be the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Browns, Steelers, Falcons, Panthers, Broncos and Cowboys.

Their road games will be with the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, Bengals, Saints, Buccaneers and Jaguars.

Dates and times will be announced in the spring.

Despite the win, the Jets are still set to pick seventh in the draft, the same spot they started the week.

Based on playing an easier schedule, the Jets finished ahead of three other 5-12 teams in the draft order.

If they had lost, they would have finished sixth.

Adams, who surpassed 1,000 yards for the fifth straight season, caught a fourth-quarter touchdown from Rodgers.

That was his 83rd touchdown connection, third in NFL history.

They moved on to Dan Marino and Mark Clayton.

Only Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Steve Young and Jerry Rice have more.