Getty Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers making an audible in the middle of an NFL game.
We’re 15 days away from the 2023 NFL draft and there has been no major update on a potential Aaron Rodgers trade.
Mike Greenberg of ESPN joined The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday April 11 and explained one potential reason for that.
“I can tell you what I’ve heard. I’ve heard that Aaron has sent signals to the Jets that there is no reason for them to rush. That he’s not coming until May anyway so they’re not missing out on anything right now. So they should hold out as long as it takes and that ultimately they won’t wind up having to trade the No. 13 pick in the draft which is what I think this ultimately comes down to.”
Aaron Rodgers Reveals What He Wants Jets to Do in First Round
“I think this is all about the Jets wanting to draft an offensive tackle at [No.] 13 and Aaron Rodgers wanting them to draft an offensive tackle at [No.] 13. I would want [that] too if I was Aaron Rodgers,” Greenberg articulated on PMS’s episode posted on Tuesday, April 11. “They [the Jets] will just hold out until the draft and they think the Packers will eventually say we’ll take slightly less than we want because we want pieces to put around or in front of Jordan Love this year, not wait until next year.”
We have heard nothing from Rodgers or his camp since he publicly stated on The Pat McAfee Show that he intends to play for the Jets in 2023.
So this is a big development and it makes sense on a lot of different levels.
By all accounts, it seems like this trade is eventually going to happen. If Rodgers is going to New York it would behoove him to be traded for as little as possible. If Gang Green gives up a bunch of major assets that’ll weaken the roster that he is supposed to take over.
Rodgers sending that message to the Jets makes sense because ultimately Green Bay is the one that’ll be on the hook for the $59 million option that is eventually due anywhere from now through the beginning of September.
In theory, they will have to eventually bend the knee because you can’t pay Rodgers that crazy number to be that backup, and if he’s the starter how does that affect Love who has been publicly dubbed the next guy?
Jets and Aaron Rodgers Are in Sync on Draft Plans
Apparently, A-Rod wants the Jets to invest a premium asset into the offensive line. According to ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler the Jets were already strongly considering going in the trenches with its first-round draft selection.
There is a really good chance that the offensive line as it is currently constructed could be very solid in 2023. However, a lot of the players on the roster have serious question marks about health and durability.
You can never go wrong with snatching up a first-round offensive lineman because they will always find their way on the field. The NFL is a brutally vicious sport and that is particularly prominent in the trenches where 300-plus-pound big men are slamming into each other on a play-to-play basis.
If the Jets land Rodgers they want to ensure his success on the field. A big way you can do that is by building the biggest and strongest wall of protection you can in front of him.