Potential 2024 First-Rounder Key Part of Rodgers Trade
GREEN BAY, Wis. – While putting the finishing touches on his draft prep on Wednesday, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was greeted with several FaceTime requests.
With the latest Aaron Rodgers drama – and all Aaron Rodgers drama – behind him and the team once and for all, the trade of the legendary quarterback to the New York Jets became official on Wednesday.
“I think this is a good day for the Packers, good day for the Jets,” Gutekunt said on the eve of the 2023 NFL Draft.
As part of the trade, the Packers for this week’s draft moved up from No. 15 to No. 13 and gained the Jets’ second-round pick at No. 42 overall. Plus, they gained a second-round pick that could improve to a first in 2024. It was a strong haul for the 39-year-old, four-time MVP.
“Obviously, getting the compensation for this year and the extra pick is very helpful in this draft,” Gutekunst said. “There’s some good players that I think will be available. If we do want to move around, I think that gives us a lot more flexibility, as well, especially at the top of the draft.
“Next year’s pick was very important to me, as well. Obviously, Aaron’s such a great player, has meant so much to this organization, and if we were going to move on from him, I thought we needed to get something of fair value back that could help this football team – not only this year but in years to come – and I think we were able to accomplish that.”
Aaron Rodgers with No. 8 (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)
While moving up to No. 13 in the first round and now having Nos. 42 and 45 of the second round will help the Packers fill critical holes, next year’s bonus pick was a critical component. That base-level second-round pick in 2024 will improve to a first if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the Jets’ offensive snaps in 2023.
“I thought play time was the right thing. That made sense to me,” Gutekunst said. “We kind of went back and forth a little bit and we kind of settled on that.”
Gutekunst wanted at least a first-round pick for Rodgers and ultimately will get it, so long as Rodgers doesn’t sustain a significant injury.
“I wanted a lot of things to start out with. Even more than that,” Gutekunst said with a smile. “Aaron’s a great player. If you’re going to trade a great player, certainly, you want to try to get as much for him as you can. I think we were realistic, as well, and understood where the player was at in his career. Yeah, we wanted a lot of things.”
Here’s the real coup in the trade: Throughout the weeks of speculation, one possibility was compensation might be on a sliding scale. Perhaps the base compensation for a 2024 pick would be the second round. If Rodgers and/or the Jets hit certain thresholds, that could improve to a first-rounder. If Rodgers retired after one season, the pick could fall into the third round.
That didn’t happen, though. The pick can only improve, even if Rodgers winds up being a one-year rental.
“There was a lot of back-and-forth on the ’24 or if we go ’25, things like that,” Gutekunst said. “We threw out a lot of options to try to make it work. This is a big deal for their organization, as well; I understand that. I understood it was going to take a little bit of time – it took longer than I expected – but there were a lot of things to go through. I’m very appreciative of Joe (Douglas, the Jets’ GM) and that organization for how we were able to get it done before the draft because that was very important for us.”
So now, the Packers will move on with Jordan Love, with fortifying the roster in this week’s draft being the next step. Gutekunst said he and Love have talked “multiple” times, including on Wednesday.
Love may or may not approach Rodgers’ level of superiority but, for now, the franchise can exhale.
Smiling his way through a question about Rodgers suggesting he only talks via FaceTime and that he didn’t receive any FaceTime calls from the Packers over the past few months, Gutekunst said there was “no lack of effort in communication” from the team during the stretch of time spanning the end-of-season exit interviews through Rodgers’ darkness retreat and, ultimately, the quarterback’s desire for a trade.
“Let’s move on from that,” Gutekunst said. “Certainly, we tried to communicate, but I don’t really know what to say to that. But, you know, we wish him well, glad that it’s finalized and we’re kind of moving forward.
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