As expected, the New York Jets have asked the Green Bay Packers about the availability of four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, ESPN reported Sunday.
The prospect of a trade has been talked about since the Packers’ season ended. ESPN reported two weeks ago that the Packers preferred to trade Rodgers and “move on.”
For his part, Rodgers said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he planned to embark on a four-day “darkness retreat” after the Super Bowl to clarify in his mind things about his future, including retirement.
“It’s an opportunity to do a little self-reflection in some isolation and after that, I feel like I’ll be a lot closer to that final, final decision,” Rodgers, 39, said.
Financial reasons are said to be the major impetus behind a potential trade, with Green Bay projected to be $16 million over next season’s salary cap. Rodgers is due $59.5 million in guaranteed money in 2023 and $49.25 million in 2024.
Rodgers told McAfee last month that he was “open to all honest and direct conversations” with the Packers. He said a trade “wouldn’t offend me, and it wouldn’t make me feel like a victim.”
NBC Sports insider Peter King said last month that the Packers would want at least two first-round picks for Rodgers. As for which teams might pay such a price, King offered up the New York Jets.
Rodgers was the NFL’s MVP in both 2020 and 2021, but he endured one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022. He completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns while tossing 12 interceptions.
The Jets, for their part, need to regroup at the position after a 2022 season that saw them use Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White as starters en route to a 7-10 season.
If Rodgers is traded to the Jets, it wouldn’t be the first time a Packers legend wound up in New York.
When the Packers decided to move on from Brett Favre in favor of Rodgers, they traded the future Pro Football Hall of Fame member to the Jets in 2008. He played one season for the Jets before signing as a free agent with the Vikings, finishing his career with two seasons in Minnesota.
–Field Level Media