The Green Bay Packers and New York Jets are going on week six of Aaron Rodgers trade negotiations. Rodgers declared his intentions to play for the Jets back in mid-March. While it is still presumed that the Jets are still the favorites to land Aaron Rodgers, multiple other teams have officially reached out regarding the four-time MVP. That being said, there was a major development in trade talks recently that may paint the picture as to what is holding things up.
Aaron Rodgers Trade Hold Up With New York Jets Leaked
According to Brian Costello of the New York Post:
That first pressure point is now arriving, though, in the form of the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday. The feeling all along has been the draft may be what pushes the two sides to make a deal . We’ll soon find out.
The sticking point in the negotiations remains the Packers’ demand for the Jets’ 2024 first-round pick to be included. As the Packers see it, Rodgers is a four-time MVP who the Jets clearly feel will make their team a contender.
The Jets do not want to send them an unconditional first-round pick for a player who will turn 40 this season and may not play for the Jets in 2024. The Jets’ preference is to send them a conditional pick next year — a second-day pick that can become a first-round choice if certain conditions are met. It is unknown what the conditions the Jets are putting forth are but an example would be if the Jets go to the AFC Championship game, the pick becomes a first-rounder, or if Rodgers wins an MVP, it goes to a 1.
While the two sides are not discussing a first-round pick this year, they are talking about one of the Jets’ two second-round picks going to the Packers. Those picks will come next Friday night. The second round begins at 7 p.m. That is the soft deadline now for a Rodgers deal to get done.
If the Packers want to come away from this trade with anything to show for it in 2023, they need this trade to happen by the time the Jets are on the clock with the 42nd and 43rd picks in the draft. If the deal is not done by then, things change drastically and the value of what the Packers can get in return for Rodgers drops. We are now looking at the 2024 and 2025 drafts and those are much harder to define and the Jets are going to be much more reluctant to deal premium picks in years where they don’t even know who their quarterback will be.
From the sounds of it, the New York Jets are becoming “more and more okay” with giving up a conditional 2024 draft pick that could easily wind up being a first-round pick. The Green Bay Packers have been after a first-round pick ever since trade negotiations took off. Trading away your all-time franchise player, and not getting at least one first-round draft pick, seems kind of crazy. Even if he is almost 40.
It is still possible that, if the trade happens during the 2023 NFL draft, it will happen on the second day of the draft. The Jets seem to be set on keeping their 13th overall pick this year. That means the 42nd and 43rd overall picks in the second round this year would be the Packers’ focus.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @mcquadewarnold, follow us @WiSportsHeroics, and listen to our Podcast, The Cheese Dads NOW with Legendary DT Gilbert Brown! You can also reach out to McQuade Arnold via email at mcquadewarnold@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks.
