Sunday, November 24, 2024

Packers, Jets move toward Aaron Rodgers deal

The most concrete evidence of the ice thawing between the Packers and Jets came on Monday, when Green Bay GM Brian Gudkunst admitted his team won’t get a first-round pick for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. That statement could be interpreted as a sign that the Packers have finally abandoned their insistence on a package highlighted by the surrender of the 13th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

But it also points to the possibility of a first-round pick in 2024 based on future events.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports The latest is from ArizonaAll the teams could come together and finally settle their differences in a deal that is becoming increasingly inevitable for the two teams at the current center of the NFL’s universe.

We’re told the Jets will part with a pair of second-round picks. As Robinson characterizes the current talks, Green Bay will receive a second-round pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2024, which could move to a first-round pick in 2023 based on how the Jets do with Rodgers on the team.

Also at issue is the fact that Rodgers, who says he was 90 percent leaning toward retirement when he embarked on the latest Dark Retreat, would only spend a year in New York before calling it a career. The Jets want protection against that possibility, in the form of Big returning to New York in 2025.

While it won’t be easy to push a deal over the finish line, it looks like discussions have crossed a square as the Packers dug in their heels in anticipation of New York’s round-one pick in 2023.

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Why wouldn’t the Packers let the 2024 pick depend on team and/or player performance in 2023? Both franchises used a similar device in 2008 when Brett Favre made the trek from the frozen tundra to the Oversized Apple. And why not protect the Jets against the possibility that Rodgers decides to call it quits after just one season?

The Packers are clearly done with Rodgers. Whatever they get for a guy who never plays for them again is a bonus. If they end up with a second-round pick this year, as well as a first-round pick next year, and ultimately have to give back a mid-round pick in 2025, that’s already a nice parting gift for the franchise. Mentally parted ways with another franchise quarterback — Favre to Rodgers to Jordan Love in a clumsy Baden exchange just in time to find out if they’ll go three for three.

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