New York Jets Are Super Bowl Contenders Now That Aaron Rodgers Trade With Packers Is Finally Agreed To
Days before the 2023 NFL draft, the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers got creative on Monday to finalize the trade that will send Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple.
The two teams agreed to the parameters of the trade that will send the four-time MVP from Green Bay to New York.
The Jets were adamant they weren't trading their first-round pick in 2023 when their chase for Rodgers began in March. Well, they did just that.
“I felt it would be done all along but at the same time as long as it took there were certainly times where you’re kind of, ‘well, maybe it won’t and how are going to proceed going forward,’" Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said. "But, yeah, there were moments.”
Aaron Rodgers was traded from the Packers to the Jets. (Getty Images)
Aaron Rodgers Trade Details
The Jets sent the Packers their No. 13 overall selection in Thursday's first round.
But the Packers, in turn, are sending the Jets the No. 15 overall selection in that round plus a fifth-round pick (No. 170).
The Packers are also getting one of New York's second-round picks (No. 42 overall) and a sixth-round pick (No. 207 overall) in this coming draft.
Next year it gets interesting:
The Packers get a conditional second-round pick in 2024.
That conditional second-rounder would become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the snaps for the Jets this upcoming season.
Rodgers and his now new teammate Vinny Curry. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
So what does this all mean?
It means both sides had to bend a little to make this happen. No, the Packers didn't get an outright first for Rodgers this year, but they did improve their spot in the first round.
And if New York is sending Green Bay that conditional first in 2024, it means the quarterback did a lot of work for the Jets this year, which is obviously good for them and the Packers.
All this also means the Jets are now Super Bowl contenders.
No other way to put it.
Dolphins, Bills and Patriots fans will protest. But it cannot be denied.
The Jets finished 7-10 last season while playing guys no better than Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin at quarterback much of the year, as former first-round pick Zach Wilson went into meltdown mode and was benched twice.
The Jets were 7-4 at one point and seemingly headed to a playoff berth before collapsing at season's end.
But the reason there was that October hope was a defense that finished fourth-best in the NFL, allowing only 18.6 points per game. This while New York's offense averaged a paltry 17.4 points per game.
Jordan Love Takes Over In Green Bay
In Green Bay, Jordan Love is the new starting quarterback for 2023.
Rodgers had a down season for the Packers in 2022. He struggled with injuries that didn't always prevent him from playing but didn't allow him to practice many days and affected his production.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Rodgers and a young, new receiver corps also struggled to get on the same page for much of the season.
And despite those obvious and frustrating problems, Rodgers and the Packers averaged 21.8 points per game. The Jets failed to score 21 points in nine losses last season. Had they scored 21 points in those, they would have won five of those games.
So you do the math. If Rodgers, 39, merely lifts the Jets to the modest heights he reached in perhaps his worst Green Bay full season, the Jets are going to do damage.
Yes, the Buffalo Bills remain a favorite in the AFC East after winning the division the past three years. But they struggled at the end of the year with the Dolphins and others before being ousted from the playoffs.
The Dolphins are also better this year.
The Jets are way better.
And the chase for the playoff spots from AFC East teams has already begun.