NFL Analyst Names New York Jets' Trade for Aaron Rodgers Among NFL's Worst

The New York Jets have been desperate for an answer at the quarterback position for a long time.

Numerous top draft picks have been used on players, such as Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson, and none of them have panned out. Looking to finally end the drought, the team traded for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers during the 2023 offseason.

His acquisition from the Green Bay Packers created a lot of buzz and excitement around the organization for the first time in a while. Alas, nothing has gone according to plan, which is why the deal has been panned by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.

In a recent piece, he ranked the worst mistake each team in the NFL has made since 2020. There were a litany of decisions made over the last four years for the NFL analyst to choose from.

Selecting Wilson over players such as Ja’Marr Chase, Penei Sewell, Pat Surtain, DeVonta Smith and Micah Parsons, who are all stars in their own right, would have qualified. Trading for Haason Reddick this offseason is where many fans would have likely gone.

But, it was the Jets trading for him that was selected and landed at No. 3. The only worse mistakes were the Denver Broncos trading for and extending quarterback Russell Wilson and the Cleveland Browns doing the same for Deshaun Watson and guaranteeing his entire contract.

“The Rodgers trade stands head and shoulders above the rest because it came with so much baggage. Trading for him made the Jets hire Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator. It led them to sign Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard as free agents and bring on Tim Boyle as a backup quarterback. The trade for Davante Adams wouldn't have happened if the Jets weren't doing whatever they could to try to kick-start a moribund offense with Rodgers' old friend from Green Bay.”

As a standalone transaction, New York has almost certainly made worse moves. But when you include all of the things done to appease their new quarterback on top of it, things get ugly fast.

The Jets are lucky that the deal didn’t cost them another first-round pick. They only have Olu Fashanu on the roster because Rodgers’s Achilles injury meant he didn’t hit the thresholds to change the second-round pick they sent the Packers into a first-rounder.

When a franchise is as desperate as the Jets are to find success, they will make short-sighted moves such as acquiring a 39-year-old quarterback who was coming off a so-so 2022 campaign.

He has started finding his groove in recent weeks, as he is playing much better. He and Davante Adams are producing at a nice clip, but it is too little too late as the team was eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago for season No. 14 in a row and clinched their ninth consecutive losing campaign.

No one could have predicted this, but the team has a worse winning percentage with Rodgers at the helm than Wilson.