Getty Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers celebrating after a big play during an NFL game.
The Green Bay Packers have been unable to agree to a trade sending Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. The solution may be adding a third team to the mix.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell on Wednesday, April 19, pitched the Seattle Seahawks as the third corner of a trade triangle that would lock in a first-round pick for the Packers, while the Jets can save face by picking up Rodgers and moving back just seven spots in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The compensation packages would work out as follows:
- Packers receive a 2023 first-round pick (No. 13) and a conditional 2024 third-round pick from the Jets, which can elevate to a 2024 second-round pick if the Jets win a playoff game next postseason.
- Jets receive Rodgers and a 2023 third-round pick (No. 78) from the Packers, as well as a 2023 first-round pick from the Seahawks (No. 20).
- Seahawks receive a 2023 second-round pick (No. 42) from the Jets and a 2023 second-round pick (No. 45) from the Packers.
Packers, Jets Get Desired Results in Aaron Rodgers Trade Involving Seahawks
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after a touchdown during a game against the San Francisco 49ers in September 2021.
Barnwell said the best way to understand the three-team proposal that finally clears the Green Bay gridlock and sends Rodgers on his way to New York is to think of it as two separate transactions.
First, the Jets send No. 13 and a conditional pick in 2024 to the Packers. This would be a third-round pick that becomes a second-rounder if the Jets win a playoff game in 2023. In return, they finally land Rodgers, as well as Nos. 45 and 78 from Green Bay. Depending on how you evaluate the future conditional pick, this values Rodgers as roughly being worth the 25th pick in a typical draft by the Johnson chart.
Then, the Jets would send Nos. 42 (acquired from the [Cleveland] Browns in the Elijah Moore deal) and 45 (just acquired in this Packers deal) to the Seahawks for No. 20. …
The Jets lose [the No. 13] selection but land Rodgers while moving down only seven spots. The Packers get the first-rounder they want for Rodgers to address their 2023 team and add another meaningful pick in 2024. The Seahawks create more value for themselves and have four picks between 37 and 52, which allows them to move wherever they want in the bottom of the first round and top of the second round.
Packers Need to Trade Aaron Rodgers, Move on After NFL Draft
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers leaves the field after a win over the Dallas Cowboys in November 2022.
Rodgers has been an offseason focal point for the past three years, which means he’s also been a distraction that entire time. However, an argument can be made that this offseason has been the worst of all.
Doubts about the future of the relationship on both sides have caused it to publicly crumble, with Rodgers and general manager Brian Gutekunst being more vocal about the other’s role in its disintegration. Gutekunst called Rodgers out for not returning the organization’s calls earlier in the offseason, while Rodgers has advised the Jets not to trade the No. 13 pick for him.
The passive aggressive battle to secure negotiating leverage and control the public narrative is as damaging as it is tiring for a Green Bay organization that has already moved on to the Jordan Love era. Barnwell’s three-team proposal offers a way out for everyone involved in a trade that produces a rare win-win-win scenario and, perhaps just as importantly, closes this chapter in Packers history before the month of April is out.