Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets might have to get creative in their pursuit of a new quarterback this offseason.
On Twitter two experts were able to cobble together a proposed trade that just might work for all parties:
Green Bay Packers receive: wide receiver Corey Davis, 2023 second-round pick, 2024 first-round pick
New York Jets receive: quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Details on This Particular Jets-Packers Aaron Rodgers Trade
It all started when I tweeted a nugget from Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic who reported that “people in and around the Jets are operating under the assumption that Corey Davis will be a cap casualty” this offseason.
If Gang Green decided to move on they could save $10.5 million in cap space with only $666,667 in dead cap.
‘People in and around the #Jets are operating under the assumption that Corey Davis will be a cap casualty’ this offseason, per @ZackBlatt. NYJ would save $10.5 million w/ $666,667 in dead cap. #TakeFlight
Peter Bukowski covers the Packers for a variety of platforms and he revealed that Green Bay actually “tried to trade for Davis around the draft last spring.”
He then said if the Jets are thinking about moving on perhaps they could put him in a larger trade package for Rodgers and said it “makes perfect sense.”
Joe Caporoso who covers the Jets for Badlands heard what everyone said and decided to propose a trade of his own.
In the thread below Bukowski asked Caporoso if that 2024 first-round pick was a guaranteed first-round pick or if it would be conditional.
Joe responded that he would love for that pick to be conditional in a “perfect world” but admitted that he could “live with it” if the rest of the package stayed the same.
Peter confirmed that if the pick wasn’t conditional he’d do the deal. However, if the 2024 selection had conditions on it, he would seek an additional first-round swap “to sweeten it.”
Nathaniel Hackett Hire Makes an Aaron Rodgers Jets-Packers Trade More Real
On Thursday, January 26 the Jets finally hired an offensive coordinator when Nathaniel Hackett put pen to paper.
As soon as that news became public everyone started drawing the connections between Hackett and Rodgers. The pair spent three seasons together from 2019 through 2021 with the Packers and Rodgers delivered back-to-back MVPs during that span of time.
I had salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger on my podcast this week and asked him if the hiring of Hackett meant that Rodgers was coming to New York.
“Here is the thing I mean it’s very very possible. It is more likely Aaron Rodgers is traded this offseason than last offseason. I get it last year we heard the Denver Broncos hired Hackett and everyone thought Rodgers and it didn’t happen. I always thought this offseason made more sense [for a trade] because of the contract extension.
I think this is a holistic approach: get Hackett, get Rodgers, and try to win in the short term. Also in the long term maybe they can help build back up Zach Wilson’s confidence. Rodgers is close to Wilson and they talk on a regular basis.”
This could be the perfect answer to the Jets’ complicated quarterback question.
How can they win now while also not giving up on the No. 2 overall pick in the draft? There aren’t many quarterbacks that would be able to check off both of those boxes, but that is exactly what would happen in this scenario.