Getty Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers motioning in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets and Green Bay Packers have been unable to strike a trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
However, a new trade idea from Bill Barnwell of ESPN might just be crazy enough to end the stalemate.
New York Jets receive: quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a 2023 first-rounder (No. 20 overall), and a 2023 third-rounder (No. 78 overall)
Green Bay Packers receive: a 2023 first-rounder (No. 13 overall), a conditional 2024 third-rounder (via the Jets)
Seattle Seahawks receive: a 2023 second-rounder (No. 42 overall) and a 2023 second-rounder (No. 45 overall)
Solving the Aaron Rodgers Trade Dilemma With Packers, Jets, & Seahawks Help
There is a lot to unpack there so let’s try to break it down.
Barnwell said he had to “get creative” to get the Packers the No. 13 pick but also keep the Jets inside the first round. He said to make this deal happen he needed Seattle’s help to “facilitate this deal.”
The conditional third the Jets sent to Green Bay could become a second-rounder in 2024 if Gang Green is able to “win a playoff game in 2023.”
Barnwell said this three-team trade estimated Rodgers’ trade value as “roughly being worth” the No. 25 overall pick “in a typical draft by the [Jimmy] Johnson chart.”
“All of this adds up, right? The Jets lose this selection but land Rodgers while moving down only seven spots,” Barnwell explained in his column for ESPN posted on Wednesday, April 19. “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.”
Three-team trades in the NFL aren’t as common as they are say in the NBA. However, this could be a very creative way to satisfy all parties involved.
New Trade Plan With Aaron Rodgers Under Center for Jets
In this new universe, the Jets would now have a pick in the first six rounds of the 2023 NFL draft.
- No. 20 overall (via Seahawks)
- No. 43 overall
- No. 78 overall (via Packers)
- No. 112 overall
- No. 143 overall
- No. 207 overall
That in theory would provide Gang Green with plenty of draft capital to build around their new star QB1 Aaron Rodgers.
Right now the Jets and Packers are involved in a stalemate and there is no sign that is set to change imminently. It behooves all parties to meet in the middle and figure this thing out so each team can get on with their respective offseasons.
If there is no resolution during the NFL draft you might want to grab your popcorn because this could drag on for a while.
At that moment in time post-draft, there would no longer be any rush on the Green Bay side of things. None of the picks that they’d receive from the Jets would be able to be utilized until the 2024 NFL draft.
Barnwell went pretty crazy with his idea, but perhaps some fresh creativity can be the secret elixir to finally get this trade over the goal line.