NFL rumors: Aaron Rodgers is the sole reason Jets-Packers trade hasn’t happened

April 14, 2023 ndowd

Aaron Rodgers isn’t a member of the New York Jets yet. The Green Bay Packers have Rodgers himself to thank for that.

Prior to Aaron Rodgers appearance on the Pat McAfee show last month (yeah, it’s been that long), the Jets and Packers were nearing a deal for the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports.

The framework was in place. All both sides needed was some sort of confirmation from Rodgers that he wanted to play in New York.

The McAfee interview provided that confirmation, but Rodgers unfortunately also went in-depth on his thought process, including how close he came to retiring. In the interview, Rodgers said that he entered his darkness retreat “90 percent retired,” but reemerged with a different mindset. It’s that sort of flip-flopping that can (and reportedly did) impact trade compensation.

And this is kind of shocking: Robinson reports the parties had the parameters of a deal in place. But after Rodgers said the “90% retired” thing, Woody Johnson got scared to spend high draft capital on him. That would explain why the #Packers don’t want to take less.

— Wendell Ferreira (@wendellfp) April 12, 2023

NFL Rumors: Aaron Rodgers to blame for Jets, Packers trade falling through

Aaron Rodgers does want to be a New York Jet, but he got in his own way by declaring himself that close to retirement in a moment which occurred just days prior (at that point). Rodgers is a great talent, but if he’s only going to play one more year in the NFL, it’s unlikely the Packers will get more than one first-round pick for his services, if that.

Now, the Jets rightly want pick protections based on what Rodgers decides regarding his future next offseason. Rodgers wants his $60 million for this season, whether that’s in Green Bay or New York. Next year, that could change, especially if the Jets experiment has a surprising twist. Sometimes a new quarterback and young weapons can take awhile to gel. Is Rodgers up for that?

Eventually, Rodgers will be traded to New York. But for now, we all have sit through an incredibly boring drama of his own making.

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