The Jets are available in the market for a quarterback … once more. That is the primary in a three-part collection exploring their choices this offseason. The primary half is a have a look at buying and selling for Packers star Aaron Rodgers.
Jets followers are abruptly trying to find clues on “The Pat McAfee Present,” researching ayahuasca and watching numerous “Jeopardy!” hoping for indicators that Aaron Rodgers shall be their subsequent quarterback.
These followers might must R-E-L-A-X.
It may very well be some time earlier than Rodgers’ future turns into clear and whether or not that includes a commerce to Gang Inexperienced. Rodgers and the Jets made sense in some ways, however there stay some massive questions: Would Rodgers wish to play for the Jets, and would staff proprietor Woody Johnson be prepared to choose up the $59.465 million tab for Rodgers to play in 2023?
Johnson mentioned after the season that he “completely” could be prepared to spend on a veteran quarterback this offseason if that’s what common supervisor Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh inform him they wish to do. Johnson, nonetheless, might not have had a price ticket of near $60 million in thoughts.
Because the Jets ponder their quarterback choices this offseason, the Rodgers query hovers over it. The opportunity of including a future Corridor of Famer could also be too good to move up.
In the meanwhile, that’s all simply hypothesis. The Packers haven’t indicated they’re prepared to commerce Rodgers. And Rodgers has not mentioned whether or not he intends to play in 2023, and if he does play, whether or not he desires to be traded. He has supplied only a few clues about what he plans to do. It’s the third straight season of making an attempt to learn the tea leaves with Rodgers.
“All the opposite concepts about [a] commerce and whatnot, that’s all conjecture till I resolve what I wish to do shifting ahead for myself,” Rodgers mentioned on “The Pat McAfee Present” this week.
The conjecture bought a lift final weekend when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported it’s a “actual chance” each the Packers and Rodgers are occupied with a commerce this offseason.
The Jets have been related to the Rodgers sweepstakes via logic. After their catastrophe this previous season with Zach Wilson, Saleh and Douglas want a “win now” quarterback in 2023. Rodgers suits the invoice. Johnson has proven he likes to accumulate shiny toys. Notably, he traded for Brett Favre, Rodgers’ predecessor at Inexperienced Bay, in 2008.
May Johnson swing one other take care of the Packers for an growing older celebrity?
Broadway Aaron
The primary domino to fall shall be whether or not Rodgers is prepared to come back to the Jets. Rodgers doesn’t have a no-trade clause, however no staff would commerce for him with out assurances that he desires to play for them. Some imagine he wouldn’t be comfy below the New York highlight. The Jets definitely are in a greater place than they’ve been to draw a participant of Rodgers’ pedigree. They’ve a top-five protection. They’ve younger weapons resembling Garrett Wilson, Breece Corridor and Elijah Moore. And they’re anticipated to revamp the offensive line this offseason.
The Jets are within the strategy of hiring an offensive coordinator, and Nathaniel Hackett, who labored with Rodgers in Inexperienced Bay and whom the quarterback has spoken extremely of, is likely one of the candidates. Hackett’s presence, nonetheless, doesn’t assure something. Simply ask the Broncos. After they employed Hackett as their head coach final season, some believed Rodgers would observe him to Denver.
Saleh and Rodgers have some familiarity due to Saleh’s shut relationship with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. Rodgers mentioned he congratulated Saleh when the Jets employed him whereas he was FaceTiming with LaFleur. Saleh has confronted Rodgers as a coordinator and head coach and bought to observe him apply in the summertime of 2021, when the Jets and Packers practiced collectively in Inexperienced Bay.
“Watching him in a apply setting, I believed it was, for me, one of many cooler experiences,” Saleh mentioned on the time. “You hear about Corridor of Famers and also you hear about how their apply habits are and I simply thought the best way he communicated together with his teammates, the best way he talked to his coaches, the respect and the regard that his teammates have for not solely him nevertheless it’s reciprocated from him to his teammates, only a class act. And every thing individuals consider him is strictly proper, he’s A-1.”
The Contract
From a Jets perspective, the largest hurdle is cash. A possible commerce for Rodgers wouldn’t be a wage cap challenge. The three-year, $150 million contract extension he signed in March is structured in a means that retains the cap hits low for the subsequent two years.
There’s a good breakdown of Rodgers’ contract at overthecap.com. Principally, no matter staff Rodgers performs for in 2023 would have the choice to interrupt Rodgers’ compensation up right into a $1.165 million base wage and a $58.3 million bonus. The bonus could be prorated over 4 years to decrease the cap cost. His 2024 wage has the same choice. His cap fees could be a mixed $48 million over the subsequent two seasons.
So, the Jets might make the cap work. The query is whether or not Johnson could make the money work. Despite the fact that the bonus could be prorated for cap functions, Rodgers could be due the $20.3 million inside 10 days of the staff exercising the choice and the opposite $38 million earlier than Sept. 30.
Whereas Johnson is a billionaire, the Jets do function below a price range and a part of the attract of drafting Zach Wilson in 2021 was having a quarterback taking part in on a rookie contract and with the ability to allocate cash elsewhere. The Jets absolutely didn’t have $60 million within the price range for a quarterback when planning for the 2023 season.
The Packers could also be hesitant to commerce Rodgers as a result of they are going to incur a $40 million dead-money cost in the event that they do. In the event that they do transfer on from Rodgers, it is going to be as a result of they are going to have determined they’ve had sufficient and wish to begin Jordan Love. It gained’t make a lot monetary sense for them.
The Different Points
Past the monetary compensation, the Jets would even have to surrender draft capital to accumulate Rodgers. Simply how a lot is determined by who you ask. There was media hypothesis that the Packers would need two first-round picks for Rodgers. These across the league really feel that’s unrealistic. At 39 years outdated, Rodgers is older than different quarterbacks who’ve been traded lately. The buying staff could be absorbing his contract, and if it will get to the purpose of commerce talks, could be taking a possible headache off of Inexperienced Bay’s fingers.
Any commerce bundle in all probability could be primarily based on how Rodgers performs this coming season. A staff might ship a mid- and late-round choose within the 2023 draft to Inexperienced Bay and in addition deal a choose or picks in 2024 which are conditional primarily based on issues like what number of video games Rodgers performs, whether or not he wins MVP, and whether or not the staff make the playoffs, the Tremendous Bowl and wins the Tremendous Bowl. A fourth-round choose might change into a first-rounder primarily based on Rodgers hitting sure marks in 2023.
A giant query for the Jets is whether or not they imagine Rodgers is declining. He had one among his worst seasons in 2022 after successful the MVP award in 2020 and 2021. Rodgers threw 12 interceptions, his most in a decade, and didn’t have a single 300-yard passing sport final season. The Packers went 8-9 and missed the playoffs.
Then, there’s the query of what number of years Rodgers desires to play. Is it price doing all of that for one season? He may very well be a short-term repair, however the staff buying him could be trying to find one other quarterback in 2024. Rodgers has flirted with strolling away for a number of years now.
Rodgers might drag this out and the Jets might not be capable to wait. Different quarterbacks, resembling Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo, are going to search out houses by mid-March. The Jets can’t be left with out a associate on the finish of the sport of QB musical chairs.
“I’ve bought to determine what I wish to do,” Rodgers advised McAfee, “after which we’ll see the place all of the events are at and what sort of transpires after that.”
Issues might get fascinating.
Coming tomorrow: May Jimmy G or Derek Carr be the reply?
