The Aaron Rodgers to New York deal feels so done there are graphics showing AFC East QB rankings with Rodgers included, but apparently talks are at a stalemate.
Though Rodgers has made it clear he wants to be traded to the Jets, the Packers have made it clear they would like to move on from their veteran QB, and the Jets have traded away Mike White in preparation to make Zach Wilson the backup, a deal still has to make sense for both sides.
For it to make sense for the Packers, Green Bay reportedly wants a first-round pick – which through Rodgers is 39-years-old, doesn’t seem crazy for a player one year removed from an MVP season. The Jets on the other hand, reportedly are refusing to include a first rounder in the deal.
“The Packers are holding out for what they want right now,” Robinson said during an interview on the “Wilde and Tausch” show. “Green Bay is stuck on an asking price of a two this year, a straight-shot one next year … and they’d be willing to do the 2025, some sort of draft asset give back, if for some reason Aaron Rodgers doesn’t play in 2024.”
When Robinson said a “straight-shot one,” that means it wouldn’t be a conditional pick; the pick would be a first-rounder no matter what.
Robinson’s last comment about throwing a potential 2025 pick in the deal is also notable because two weeks ago, it was reported that one of the sticking points in negotiations was that the Jets wanted to be compensated if Rodgers only ended up playing one season with the team, which Green Bay wasn’t completely on board with at the time. As noted by Robinson, though, the Packers are now willing to give the Jets a 2025 draft pick if Rodgers doesn’t play in 2024, so there has been some slight progress in negotiations, but not much.
Here’s the framework of the deal that Green Bay is currently looking for:
- Jets get: Aaron Rodgers, 2025 conditional pick that Jets only get if Rodgers retires after one season in New York
- Packers get: 2023 second-round pick, 2024 first-round pick
The main sticking point here is the fact that the Packers want a first-round pick included in the deal, and apparently, Johnson is staunchly against any deal that would include a first-rounder.
“The Jets, and Woody Johnson specifically, they’re just not going to do it, and that’s why this is sort of sitting where it is,” Robinson said.
The interesting thing here is that the Packers aren’t even trying to get the Jets’ 2023 first-round pick. It was pretty clear from the beginning that the Jets weren’t going to be willing to part ways with the 13th overall pick, which is their first-rounder this year, so the Packers are trying to get New York’s first-rounder in 2024.
The Jets have signed Alan Lazard, who was on Rodgers’ ‘wish list’, but missed out on Odell Beckham, who signed with the Ravens last week.
