REPORT: Packers & Jets Have Resumed Trade Talks As NFL Draft Approaches
Will Aaron Rodgers finally be traded??
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The trade talks between the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets regarding Aaron Rodgers have been anything but quick.
Now with only 4 days till the NFL Draft both teams are back to engaging in discourse regarding trade compensation per Ian Rapoport earlier today.
If you’re anything like me you are ready for the trade of Aaron Rodgers to become official and for both the Packers and Jets to move on to the future. It feels like we are in this limbo period where nothing is really happening and progress isn’t being made.
Right now we don’t know how far apart both sides are in their negotiations. For all we know they could either be miles apart or right on the cusp of finally coming to an agreement and announcing the trade.
I am ready to get that notification on my phone that says, “AARON RODGERS HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN TRADED TO THE NEW YORK JETS FOR A 2023 2ND AND 2024 1ST!”
I think it’s crazy that people don’t think the Jets should have to give up a good amount of capital for Aaron Rodgers.
He is your ticket out of mediocrity. If the Jets don’t get Rodgers they are a 5-7 win team with Zach Wilson. If they do get Rodgers they are probably a 12-14 win team. That is a MASSIVE difference.
The guy who makes that kind of difference shouldn’t come cheap. Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas will be out of a job in a few years if this trade falls through and the Jets continue to struggle. I don’t think the Jets have the luxury of being picky right now.
There’s no doubt that both sides would prefer to get a trade done sooner rather than later. The Jets want Rodgers to be able to start working with his new offense and the Packers want to shift all of the focus to Jordan Love. The holdup seems to be the draft compensation that the Jets are willing to give up for future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers. Up to this point the Packers and the Jets still haven’t been able to see things the same way. If they did the trade already would have been made official.
Will a trade really get done by draft day? Personally, I think it will.
My gut tells me a trade will get done by the time this draft is over. There was a theory floating around not too long ago on reddit that a deal has already been agreed upon but the exact compensation will be decided on draft night based on which players are available at the time the Jets are picking. This theory doesn’t sound too out there if you ask me.
There could potentially be a pick swap between the Jets at #13 and the Packers at #15. Maybe the Jets are willing to trade pick #13 if it gets to their pick and the guy or guys they wanted are gone. They could say you know what you can have pick #13. On the other hand if they get to pick #13 and there is a guy they want to select, they could give Green Bay their 2024 1st instead or the two 2023 2nds they have. I don’t see why the Jets would so publicly claim that Rodgers will for sure be their QB if some kind of agreement isn’t already in place. But hey, maybe they are just overconfident.
If the Packers don’t budge by draft day there is no telling how long they’d be willing to hold out till they get what they want. If you are the Jets you may as well come to an agreement now rather than later. The Packers hold the prize in their hand.
If this carries on past the draft the next big date to keep an eye on is June 1. If Rodgers is traded after that day his dead cap hit will be split between 2023 and 2024 as opposed to just 2023 if he is traded before June 1.
Here are how both scenarios compare:
If traded before June 1: ~$40 million cap hit for GB in 2023
If traded after June 1: $15 million cap hit in 2023, ~ $25 million cap hit in 2024
The plus side of the Packers waiting to make the trade till June is the fact that they’d free up cap space and would be able to go out and add more players to their roster.
The question really becomes, would the Packers rather just get the cap hit out of the way in 2023 so that they have a boat load of cap space in 2024? Honestly, either scenario has its benefits.
Let’s hope it doesn’t get to this point and a trade is announced on Thursday!
-Luke Beller