Aaron Rodgers still isn’t a Jet, despite now being a week into legal tampering, five days into the league year, and somewhere in between with knowing Rodgers wants to be here.
It seems like compensation is the hang up, but could Boomer be onto something that the Packers’ murky ownership situation – read: there is no one singular owner, the community owns shares of the team – is also part of the reason?
“Here's the thing that people have to understand. There are 32 teams in the NFL but only 31 owners, because Green Bay doesn't have an owner; it’s like a little private fiefdom with president Mark Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst,” Boomer said. “When they have their little shareholder meeting, they give the state of the tea and act as if they are the owners when, in fact, they're not, they're just the stewards of the franchise. But, Woody Johnson, there’s no one for him to call.”
Because of that, it’s not like Woody Johnson can try to convince another owner one-on-one to get it done – it’s GM to GM/President, but Gutekunst and Murphy have a lot of folks to answer to.
“Woody can’t call up, like, Jerry Jones if it was the Cowboys, and say, ‘hey, look, you’re QB has been there for 18 years and wants out, and we want him, so there’s really no reason to hold up this trade,’’ Boomer said. “We want him, let’s move on so we can all move on; we’ll swap first round picks, maybe we'll give you a second round pick and a conditional third pick, and let’s call it a day.’”
That’s about all Boomer would give the Packers, because really, between the ownership snafu, the draft approaching, and Rodgers’ cap hit, the leverage shifts back to New York every minute a trade isn’t consummated – and every minute, Murphy and Gutekunst look worse in the eyes of those thousands of shareholders.
“This is a 40-year-old quarterback who you don't know is gonna play here two years, so the Jets can't go crazy with what the compensation is back to Green Bay,” Boomer said. “I've been telling you that now for weeks, and whatever Brian Gutekunst or Mark Murphy’s ego is telling them…making the Jets sweat this out all the way until the draft is ridiculous. You have to realize you don't want him, and he doesn't want to play there for you. Move on.”
“Those guys weren’t there when Aaron Rodgers first got to Green Bay, and really, nobody’s still there,” Gio replied in agreement. “It’s a different regime, but I believe what he said to be true: I’m one of the best players in franchise history and you don’t want me anymore, so do the right thing! Shouldn’t that mean you want to get rid of him quicker and move on from this?”
Related
Ideally, but history is hard to overcome, and there's strength in numbers?
“They’ll have to explain to these fans why they traded Aaron Rodgers, and that’s months away, but it’s such a unique thing,” Boomer said, “and the only reason Lambeau is as we know it today is because of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. This run of 30 years rebuilt Lambeau Field; when they needed money to re-sign players, they called their shareholder to try to buy more shares at $300 a piece! That’s why it’s a lot different than dealing with the other 31 teams.”
Great, but should that matter to the Jets?
“What I don’t understand is why you really think that Joe Douglas and the Jets would relent, because there’s no other suitors, and he’ll otherwise sit there and count against your cap!” Gio said.
“I think that they’re going to hold fast until a little closer to the draft, because after the draft, the compensation becomes basically nothing,” Boomer replied. “I wouldn’t relinquish a hard No. 1 pick because who knows if he’s going to play more than one year.”
Gio believes the Jets and Rodgers had to talk about it, but Boomer also knows that another injury to Rodgers could be something that changes that, but no one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone this fall.
Follow WFAN's morning team on Twitter: @7BOOMERESIASON, @GioWFAN, @Alsboringtweets, @JerryRecco, and @WFANMornings
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch