He’s going back to New York. Well, New Jersey, at least. And he’s going back to face the team with which he spent the past two seasons, missing all but a handful of plays in his first year and going 5-12 as a starter in his second.

He’s returning to the place where he was told unceremoniously in March that no longer was a fit for him, where the conversation about his future lasted less than a minute, in his estimation.

Aaron Rodgers will face the New York Jets on Sunday, and if there is any lingering bitterness over his departure, he’s not sharing it publicly.

“It’s Week 1,” Rodgers said Wednesday.

Rodgers will make his first start for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that it comes against his most recent team provides no extra juice, no added motivation for the 41-year-old quarterback.

That, at least, was the story Rodgers told in his weekly press availability.

“I’ll just be excited for Week 1,” he said when asked about his emotions of facing the Jets.

Asked whether he has kept in touch with any of his former teammates as the season debut approaches, Rodgers tersely responded, “I’m not going to tell you that.”

As much as Rodgers downplayed his return to MetLife Stadium, some of his Steelers teammates told a different story.

“There is a bad taste left in his mouth from previous years,” wide receiver DK Metcalf said, “but he just wants to go out and win as many games as he can.”

Like Rodgers, cornerback Brandin Echols is facing his former team Sunday. He spent the past four years with the Jets before signing with the Steelers in free agency.

Echols believes Rodgers is fired up to face his former team, perhaps even a little angry at how he was ushered out of Gotham.

“Yeah, I would say he is,” Echols said. “We both left on terms that we really didn’t want to (leave on). So going back then, being able to beat them, it would be amazing.”

Traded to the Jets in 2023 – his preferred destination — after 18 seasons in Green Bay, Rodgers was given a restructured, three-year contract. Two years later, with the Jets bringing in a new coach (Aaron Glenn) and general manager (Darren Mougey), the two sides agreed to a split, and he became a free agent for the first time in his career.

The decision to start anew was reached after Rodgers flew across the country from California to meet with the Jets’ brass only to be told essentially that he wasted a trip.

In an April interview on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers estimated that 20 seconds into the conversation, Glenn said, “So, do you wanna play football? And I’m like, ‘yeah I’m interested.’ And he said, ‘we’re going in a different direction at quarterback.’ … I felt like there wasn’t an ample amount of respect in that meeting.”

This week, Glenn has refused to discuss Rodgers’ departure. For his part, Rodgers is focused on preparing for his 21st NFL season and his second new team in three seasons.

“It’s the new new,” he said. “I’m loving being here. The way I’ve been welcomed has been very special from the top down.”

Rodgers did not play in the preseason. Neither did Metcalf nor No. 2 receiver Calvin Austin III. Running back Jaylen Warren saw only limited action. Still, Rodgers believes he has a good grasp on the system that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has installed.

“I spent a lot of time studying in Latrobe and here, and I feel good about finishing Art’s sentences when he starts calling plays,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers likes the pieces assembled around him, particularly the tight end group that he called the “best” he has played with in two decades in the NFL.

The longest tenured of those tight ends with the Steelers appreciates the way Rodgers has approached the season opener against his former team.

“I think he just makes it seem like it’s just another game,” Pat Freiermuth said. “Obviously, we want to go out there and win it for him, but I don’t think he’s kind of living off that we’re going back to his old stomping grounds. I think he’s just ready to go out there and compete and play.”

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