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The New York Jets created the top NFL storyline when they pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
However, not everyone was a fan of the move.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently ranked the worst decisions of the NFL offseason and the Jets’ acquiring A-Rod was No. 1 on the list.
He bluntly said that this trade has the potential to be a “disastrous move.”
Top Reasons Jets-Aaron Rodgers Trade Could Flop
Ballentine called the Rodgers trade an “easy sell” in the middle of the offseason because of the Jets’ general ineptitude.
He pointed at the 12-year active playoff drought and the fact that the team hasn’t had a winning season in eight years. Ballentine said, “That’s enough losing to make any franchise get a little overeager.”
However, Rodgers’ age (39) and questionable QBR from last season (26th) could be a sign of decline.
Perhaps the biggest reason this deal has a “disastrous” element is because of the threat of retirement, according to Ballentine.
Rodgers was transparent during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show when he said he was “90 percent” retired heading into his darkness retreat.
If he simply played the 2023 campaign and then decided to retire, the Jets would have zero protection.
Right now the Packers are set to receive a 2024 second-rounder at a minimum. However, if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of the offensive snaps in 2023 that’ll transform into a first-round pick heading to Green Bay.
The idea of the Jets getting a pick back in 2025 if Rodgers retires after one season was discussed between the two teams, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports.
Jets Folded Like a Used Lawn Chair in Aaron Rodgers Trade Negotiations
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed a key detail in the trade negotiations between the Packers and the Jets.
Green Bay wanted the condition on the Jets’ 2024 second-rounder to be based on Rodgers’ offensive snap percentages and they wanted it to be 50 percent.
On the other side of the coin, New York wanted that condition to be 90 percent. The two teams settled on “65 percent.”
Green Bay went up 15 percent from their negotiating price and the Jets went down 25 percent to reach the new agreed-upon number.
The one piece of the trade that the Jets stuck to its guns on was a refusal to give up an unconditional first-round draft choice. Thankfully that provides insurance in the doomsday scenario.
If Rodgers were to get hurt and not live up to the 65 percent snap percentage, the Jets’ pick to Green Bay would remain a second-rounder.
That would allow the Jets to keep its first-rounder in 2024 just in case they need to find a new quarterback next season.
Since 2018 Rodgers has appeared in 81 out of 82 possible games. So history would indicate that he is likely to fulfill his snap percentage requirement, but in a sport as violent as football nothing is ever guaranteed.
The other good news is if Rodgers is playing above 65 percent (11 of the 17 games), then the Jets will likely be good record-wise. That obviously makes it a much easier pill to swallow if New York has to surrender a first-rounder to the Packers.
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