Packers Trading Rodgers to Jets for Two Big Draft Picks
GREEN BAY, Wis. – What seemed unthinkable 12 months ago has happened. The Green Bay Packers are trading four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed on Monday.
“The trade’s not finalized yet,” Gutekunst said. “We were expecting it to be done very quickly, hopefully soon. A lot of things have been agreed upon. Some things to go through.”
One thing that would have to get done is Rodgers will have to pass a physical.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers with receive:
- The 13th pick of the first round while sending their 15th pick back to the Jets.
- A second-round pick, No. 42 overall, in 2023.
- A sixth-round pick, No. 207, in 2023.
- A second-round pick in 2024 that could move to a first-round pick if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the offensive snaps.
- Green Bay will send the second of their fifth-round picks, No. 170 overall, back to the Jets.
“It was very important for us,” Gutekunst said of getting the trade done in time for this week’s draft. “It wouldn't have been the end of the world. But, at the same time, I think it would have certainly changed things quite a bit. So, getting it done was important. Certainly the capital for this year was very important, certainly more valuable than future stuff, for our football team.”
The trade is a blockbuster. With an additional second-round pick in this draft – a real sweet spot in a draft that aligns with Green Bay’s needs – and a potential first-round pick next year, the Packers have a chance to reload on the fly – it’s not a rebuild, Gutekunst said.
More than that, it closes the book on a legendary career.
From that last perspective, Gutekunst made a calculated business decision.
“It’s part of the job,” Gutekunst said. “I think whenever you’ve worked on something as long as we have here, you’re just hopeful that it can get done and everything can get squared away. And then I’m sure there will be feelings after that. This draft thing is so consuming. Right now, it’s just get through and continue to accomplish the tasks that we need to accomplish.”
Gutekunst was speaking exactly 40 days since Rodgers stated his “intention” of playing with the Jets in 2023.
“They want to move on and, now, so do I,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show.
Gutekunst said he has not talked to Rodgers, no different than throughout the past few months. Gutekunst wishes those conversations would have taken place before it got to this point.
“I have so much respect for Aaron – not only the person but the player. There’s so much gratitude for what he’s done for the organization,” he said.
“I know this: He’ll always be a Packer. He’ll be one of the best to have ever done it around here. I have a lot of respect for how he went about it. He’ll be missed, no doubt about it. We wish him nothing but the best. Just a lot of appreciation.”
Now, it’s onto Jordan Love, who performed poorly in about six quarters of action in 2021 but was sharp in about one quarter of action at Philadelphia in 2022.
“We’ve seen steady growth through his first three years,” Gutekunst said of Love. “Last year, through practice, there were a number of times where he to take over the 1s in practice [when Rodgers was dealing with a broken thumb and injured ribs]. You saw him grow and grow and grow.”
Love will take over the reins having thrown 83 passes in regular-season play. In retrospect, maybe Love should have replaced the injured Rodgers down the stretch last year, when the Packers were 4-8. But, as Gutekunst said, the Packers were “chasing the playoffs” at the time.
“When he did (play), he certainly answered the bell,” Gutekunst said.
This is not a rebuild, Gutekunst said.
“The goals don’t change around here.”
This was Gutekunst’s mandatory predraft news conference. He arrived at the podium about 10 minutes after Schefter reported the trade.
The first round is slated for Thursday night with Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday and Rounds 3 through 7 on Saturday.
Here are Green Bay’s 11 draft picks.
First round: No. 13 (part of Aaron Rodgers trade, with Jets getting No. 15)
Second round: No. 42 (from Jets in Aaron Rodgers draft)
Second round: No. 45
Third round: No. 78
Fourth round: No. 116
Fifth round: No. 149
Sixth round: No. 207 (from Jets in Aaron Rodgers draft)
Seventh round: No. 232
Seventh round: No. 235 (from Rams as part of Corey Bojorquez trade)
Seventh round: No. 242 (from Jaguars for Cole Van Lanen)
Seventh round: No. 256 (compensatory for Chandon Sullivan)
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