Aaron Rodgers: Why Packers Have yet to Trade Superstar Quarterback to Jets
Earlier this month, Aaron Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show to announce he's planning to play for the New York Jets in 2023. This means the Green Bay Packers will trade the star quarterback since he's under contract and can't afford to cut him. As of this writing, Rodgers remains on the Packers' roster and there's no telling when the trade will be made. This leads to the question of why the trade hasn't happened yet.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, the Packers are Jets are still in talks to make the big trade. However, the one issue is protection for draft pick compensation in the event Rodgers doesn't play in 2024. The proposed trade would be Rodgers for two high draft picks, and Robinson said a deal is getting "closer" despite stiff negotiation over how the draft picks would stack up.
If the trade was to happen now, the Jets would get Rodgers, and the Packers would get a 2023 second-round pick and a conditional 2024 second-round pick with the 2024 pick becoming a first-rounder if the Jets hit "achievable team-performance escalators" during the 2023 season. The Jets are also seeking some protection if Rodgers leaves after the 2023 season, such as draft compensation for 2025.
One reason the Jets are looking to do this it's likely Rodgers has hinted at retirement. When speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers said, "I've got to admit, I went into the darkness 90 percent retired [and] 10 percent playing." Rodgers also said that his mindset changed after emerging from the darkness retreat to find that the Packers have made calls to other teams about their interest in him.
"I was really looking forward to the conversations with Aaron to see how he fit into that," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Monday. "Those never transpired. So there came a time where we had to make some decisions, so we went through his representatives to try to talk to him [regarding] where were we going with our team. At that point, they informed us that he would like to be traded to the Jets." Rodgers, 39, has been with the Packers since the 2005 season and has been named NFL MVP four times. He led the Packers to a Super Bowl win in 2010 and has been named to the Pro Bowl 10 times.