I think the Aaron Rodgers deal will get done, probably Thursday. As we’ve said before, this thing has been too close to being done, and there’s too much on the line for everyone involved, for it not to happen. And while there is breathing room to take the negotiation all the way into Friday night, my guess is Rodgers will be a Jet before then.
The reason? The Packers have shown a desire to tweak Rodgers’s contract a bit before they trade him and, by rule, if there is an adjustment to the contract, they’d have to wait until a day after that to execute the trade.
That means if Green Bay adjusts the contract itself Friday, they can’t trade him until Saturday. And while they could just have the Jets pick for them Friday, it would limit what they could do from a trade standpoint with that pick, giving the Packers real motivation to move Rodgers before the draft starts. Additionally, I’ve heard Green Bay’s been steadfast about getting a pick in this year’s draft, rather than just 2024 and ’25 picks.
Given all that, I do feel comfortable saying that either the 42nd or 43rd pick will be part of the trade (which selection is another thing the Jets and Packers have haggled over), with, as we’ve said for a couple of weeks, what the 2024 pick looks like being what needs to be worked out in the coming days.
One idea was to make it a first-rounder conditional on the Jets’ making a certain stage of the playoffs (it’d be a second-rounder otherwise). Another was to have it be a hard first-rounder in 2024, with a second-rounder coming back to Jets in ’25 if Rodgers plays only a year. Also, at one point, a few weeks ago, the Packers sent the Jets a handful of acceptable trades. And GMs Joe Douglas and Brian Gutekunst have worked through some creative solutions, with everyone knowing how close the sides are to consummating a deal.
Given all that, I do feel comfortable saying that either the 42nd or 43rd pick will be part of the trade (which selection is another thing the Jets and Packers have haggled over), with, as we’ve said for a couple of weeks, what the 2024 pick looks like being what needs to be worked out in the coming days.
One idea was to make it a first-rounder conditional on the Jets’ making a certain stage of the playoffs (it’d be a second-rounder otherwise). Another was to have it be a hard first-rounder in 2024, with a second-rounder coming back to Jets in ’25 if Rodgers plays only a year. Also, at one point, a few weeks ago, the Packers sent the Jets a handful of acceptable trades. And GMs Joe Douglas and Brian Gutekunst have worked through some creative solutions, with everyone knowing how close the sides are to consummating a deal.