C.J. Uzomah is preparing for his ninth NFL season, but the former Auburn tight end has never experienced anything like he has since the New York Jets acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in April.

“It’s been great,” Uzomah said. “It’s nice to have someone who’s a little bit older also in the huddle, just because I felt like the old guy. I still kind of feel like the old guy, but he’s much older.

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“But it’s great. You got a future Hall of Famer back there, making adjustments, calling plays, dissecting defenses in the meeting room, telling you how he wants certain things done certain ways. I’m learning so much more about football than I have in my previous years of football combined, so it’s a lot of fun.”

During his 18 seasons with the Packers, Rodgers won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award four times. He’s the league’s active leader in career passing yards and touchdown passes, ranking ninth and fifth, respectively, in NFL history in those statistical categories.

“He wants us to look at the game through his eyes and through his lens and see the defense,” Uzomah said. “… It’s a lot. I’m going to be honest, it’s a lot. It’s very fun for me. I don’t know if you can tell. I’m smiling; I’m happy. It’s a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time, and it’s great.”

Along with Rodgers, the Jets brought in Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator. Hackett held that position while working with Rodgers in Green Bay from 2019 through 2021.

Uzomah said the Jets’ new offensive system in Rodgers’ hands made football the way he always wanted it to be.

“We have to know if it’s a three-, five- or seven-step drop with him, how we’re going to adjust, how each hot works within that adjustment,” Uzomah said. “And it makes it fun, to be honest, because then you’re like, ‘All right nice,’ because I’m not running a line and cutting in or whatever it is. It’s ‘I’m finding open space,’ and I know the quarterback wants us there and he’s going to feed us the ball. …

“Within the confinements of the play, within the confinements of the drop and the coverage, there is a little more freedom. So again, it’s not running a straight line. It’s all right, ‘Nice,’ if he has a seven-step drop, I know I have to be in this area, and he’s going find us within that area, as opposed to I have to run 12 yards and cut in and do this and do that. It’s a little different in terms of usually it’s ‘Oh, no, you have to get to this 12-yard mark and then break,’ where he’s like, ‘No, if you get 10, if you get 9 yards’ – don’t be dumb and go 6 – but if you get around that area, he’s going to find you. It’s a little bit of an adjustment because it’s what you’ve wanted to do while you’re playing, but it’s like, ‘Nah, coach said to do 12 yards, I’m going to do 12 yards.’”

Uzomah sustained a quadriceps injury during the final practice of New York’s offseason program. His recovery caused Uzomah to miss the first week of the Jets’ training-camp work.

Back on the field since July 27, Uzomah is strengthening the on-the-field connection with the new quarterback, although he said Rodgers’ ability to throw no-look passes always will be unsettling.

“Those are crazy,” Uzomah said. “I’m going to let you know right now you don’t get used to those. Even in just the group-install stuff, you better have your eyes on the quarterback the entire time. …

“It’s messing with the defense, and as long as we’re on the same page, we’re good. But those definitely creep up on you a little bit. It’s just a reminder that he’s going to do everything in his power to mess with the defense, so you got to be on it.”

Uzomah won’t catch no-look or any other kind of pass from Rodgers on Thursday when the Jets kick off the NFL’s preseason schedule against the Cleveland Browns in the annual Hall of Fame Game. Like most of the established starters on both teams, Rodgers is not expected to play in the preseason opener.

The teams have 16 players from Alabama high schools and colleges on their rosters:

· Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (Alabama)

· Browns linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High)

· Browns running back Jerome Ford (Alabama)

· Jets defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal)

· Jets defensive end Carl Lawson (Auburn)

· Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore, Alabama)

· Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz (Auburn)

· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood (Auburn)

· Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith (Greenville)

· Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (Alabama)

· Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah (Auburn)

· Browns wide receiver Austin Watkins (UAB)

· Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (Wenonah)

· Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (Wenonah, Alabama)

· Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (Alabama)

· Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB)

The Hall of Fame Game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT Thursday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. NBC will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.