It feels like a matter of when, not if, Aaron Rodgers is traded by the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers has made his feelings crystal clear as he has every intention of playing with the Jets in 2023. Alas, the Packers aren’t going to just give him what he wants without some sort of compensation in return.
What that compensation will be is anyone’s guess currently. The Packers and Jets are still working through some things, as it has been two weeks since Aaron Rodgers revealed his plans for the 2023 season.
Rumors have swirled that the framework of a deal is in place, but there hasn’t been any reported progress recently. But, Charles Robinson of Yahoo shed some light on what is taking so long in getting a deal done.
According to Robinson, the Jets are going to be trading two high draft picks to the Packers in exchange for Aaron Rodgers. A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft that could turn into a first-round pick depending on how well the Jets perform.
That seems like a reasonable demand as many believe adding Aaron Rodgers would make the Jets instant contenders. However, the hold-up in getting a trade done is that New York is seeking some protections on the draft picks or even receiving some in the future should Aaron Rodgers only play one season with the team.
Right now, that isn’t something that the Packers are interested in doing. They want it to be “straight shot” picks without qualifiers according to Robinson, which has led negotiations to reach a snail’s pace.
What it boils down to, from the Jets’ perspective, is that they don’t want to trade away premium draft capital for only one season of Aaron Rodgers. If they could get assurances that he would play in 2024, which is unlikely to occur, a deal would have probably been completed.
The teams are still at the negotiating table, which is encouraging. The leg work for a deal to get done is completed, as they are now just trying to hammer out the finer details. The Packers are certainly in no rush to get a deal done, as they have said they will wait as long as it takes to get what they want in a trade.
The Jets, on the other hand, are under a little more pressure to get a deal done. They would like to have Aaron Rodgers in the building as soon as possible to get to work learning a new system and developing chemistry with his new teammates ahead of the 2023 season.
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