The Aaron Rodgers trade from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets should be completed in the coming weeks, according to Albert Breer.
The trade between the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers for the services of Aaron Rodgers has been the biggest talking point of the NFL offseason. And given how long it has been dragged out, it can be argued that it’s the biggest storyline that we have seen for some time.
The saga has taken a few twists and turns along the way, with various reports suggesting what the Jets are willing to give up in order to get his services, what the Packers want back in return and which side will eventually come out with the best end of the deal.
However, one overarching concern through all of it has been how long the deal has been taking, with reports suggesting that talks have been going on since before the Super Bowl back in the middle of February, but according to Albert Breer, a deal should get done in the very near future.
Aaron Rodgers ready to get on the road?
Writing in a mailbag column for SI.com, Breer broke down the latest when it came to trade talks, before finally suggesting that it should all be wrapped up before next month’s NFL Draft in Kansas City, and possibly even before that:
I think it’ll happen sooner than people think because I don’t think things between the Packers and Jets are in nearly as bad a place as some seem to believe they are. We mentioned earlier in the week the rapport between GMs Joe Douglas and Brian Gutekunst from their time coming up as young road scouts. The two head coaches, Robert Saleh and Matt LaFleur, are best friends. So any raw feelings between Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, I think, are manageable, because of the relationships in place.
There’s also been progress toward hammering out a deal, in large part because despite the whole who’s-got-leverage argument, there’s reason for both sides to be motivated to get this one done. What will that deal look like? If I had to guess, I’d put it at either the 42nd or 43rd pick, and a conditional pick or picks down the line. And to answer your question directly, I think it could happen as early as this week, and certainly will get done before the draft.
Risk for the New York Jets over the Aaron Rodgers deal
If the Jets can get the deal sorted out that quickly, and if they have to give up a high draft pick to make it happen, then they really need to make sure that they hit with every pick in the upcoming draft, because they are not going to get many shots when it comes to success with Rodgers at the helm, so each pick has to be able to make an impact right away.
These cannot be picks that they’re looking to ‘develop for the future’, because Rodgers isn’t going to be there for a lot of it.