The New York Jets and Green Bay Packers pulled off the trade for Aaron Rodgers just days before the 2023 NFL Draft. It had been nearly six weeks since the day Aaron Rodgers announced on the Pat McAfee Show that he “intended” to play for the Jets in 2023. For those six weeks draft compensation and contract negotiations were the biggest hold-ups of the trade being completed. When the details of the trade were announced, Packers fans were ecstatic. As long as Rodgers plays 65% of the snaps in 2023, the Packers will have two first-round draft picks next year. As far as the Jets side of things? They are getting absolutely slandered right now for what they gave up.
New York Jets Get Absolutely Slandered For The Aaron Rodgers Trade
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report published an article ranking the seven worst decisions of the 2023 off-season. What was ranked as the #1 worst decision? You guessed it:
#1. New York Jets Trade For Aaron Rodgers
When Aaron Rodgers got traded to the New York Jets, it wasn’t just those involved with the Jets who let out a sigh of relief. The whole spectrum of fans and media who care about the sport celebrated that the saga came to an end.
But it’s fair to wonder how long it will take those sighs to turn into groans in New York.
This move is an easy sell right now when optimism reigns supreme. The Jets haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. That’s enough losing to make any franchise get a little overeager.
While Rodgers has won two of the last three MVP’s, he also finished 26th in total QBR and is 39 years old.
The Jets paid a hefty price to find out if he can regain that MVP form. They swapped picks in the first round (moving them from No. 13 to No. 15), gave up a second-rounder (No. 42, which became tight end Luke Musgrave) and No. 207 (which became kicker Anders Carlson) along with a 2024 second-round pick which becomes a first-round pick if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the snaps in 2023.
The pick swap ended up hurting because it moved the Jets out of the range to draft an offensive tackle in the first round. That was a need, and four came off the board before the Jets came on the clock—including Broderick Jones, who went at No. 14.
The pick protection doesn’t really protect them if Rodgers plays the whole season and retires, which is a distinct possibility given his age and past flirtations with retirement.
This has the potential to be a disastrous move for the Jets.
Does Alex Ballentine Make A Good Point?
From the Jets’ side of things, the trade certainly seemed like an “all or nothing” type of move. The last time the Jets were in the playoffs was 2010. That year they lost the conference championship game with Mark Sanchez at quarterback. The organization may have set themselves up for more dark years if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t pan out the way they hope.
For the Green Bay Packers, this trade set them up as well as one could have hoped for the future. Extra draft picks this year and multiple premium picks next year to make adjustments (if need be).
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2 Comments
Nice try, only ones slandering are in WI. Have fun finally knowing how it feels to not have Favre or Rodgers.
Ballentine must have guzzled a few beers when he wrote that “article.”