Report: Packers-Jets Trade Talks at ‘Standstill’

The Green Bay Packers want a first-round pick “and that’s not all” in a trade for Aaron Rodgers, Adam Schefter of ESPN said.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 23, 2023 1:53 PM EDT

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets “haven’t spoken much in the last week” about a trade that would send four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple.

Schefter used the words “stalled” and “standoff” about the state of negotiations.

Trade compensation is at the heart of the matter. The Jets don’t want to give up their first-round pick, No. 13 overall. The Packers want that pick “and that’s not all,” Schefter said.

From the Jet’s perspective, that slot would add another potential difference-maker for a team that fancies itself a championship contender. Among the weaknesses on the Jets’ roster is left tackle, a spot they should be able to address at that point in the draft.

Along with their desire to hang onto that pick, there’s the related matter of the finances.

As noted by OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald, “Rodgers’ contract has $108.8 million to be paid out in 2023 and 2024, with $59.515 million coming this year. That is an average salary of $54.4 million per year, about $5 million a year more than the next-closest player. There is no long-term commitment that comes with Rodgers, and one year for nearly $60 million would be nearly double the largest one-year player contract in NFL history.”

The Jets might want the Packers to pick up some of the tab, especially for premium trade compensation. As one NFL source has said a number of times, the Jets are practically doing the Packers a favor by taking the contract off their hands.

At the same time, Rodgers’ contract wasn’t a mystery to Jets management, yet they went all-in on the quarterback knowing full well the monetary issues. That means either the Jets figured they could pluck Rodgers away from the Packers at a bargain price or the financial talk has been overblown.

“At the end of the day, if you think a player is the missing piece – especially when he’s a quarterback – then the price doesn’t really matter,” another source said. “Is Aaron the missing piece? I don’t know, but that’s what they think.”

By trading Rodgers, not only would the Packers be able to turn the page to Jordan Love but they’d be able to hit the financial reset without Rodgers’ $40.7 million cap charge on the 2024 ledger.

Time is not of the essence. The 2023 NFL Draft is five weeks away. That the sides have barely talked is probably more a reflection of Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and Jets general manager Joe Douglas being preoccupied with more timely matters. The Jets just traded receiver Elijah Moore, for instance, and monster pro days at Ohio State on Wednesday and Alabama on Thursday have been on the predraft schedule.

“The Jets feel like they’re offering a lot; the Packers feel like they’re not offering enough and the two sides are left at a standstill,” Schefter said.

On Wednesday, the Jets sent Moore and a third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a second-round pick. That gives New York back-to-back picks in the second round, Nos. 42 and 43 overall.

The trade wasn’t made solely to give the Jets ammunition for a Rodgers trade, Schefter said. Moore asked for a trade last season, when he was irked at then-offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur – Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s brother – and he was made expendable by the free-agent signing of Mecole Hardman.

However, the trade opens new avenues for discussion. Depending on the trade-value chart, the combined point total of those picks is equal to the 17th or 19th pick of the first round.

Said Schefter of the Jets’ trade packages: “They’re going to come at this with different ideas and different packages, one of which might entice Green Bay.”