One day after agreeing to terms with the Packers, Jets general manager Joe Douglas called the Aaron Rodgers deal “a historic trade for this franchise.”
Douglas met the media on Tuesday for his annual predraft press conference, which was was scheduled before the Rodgers deal was done.
But he did not answer many questions about the draft.
Instead, the topic du jour was Rodgers, Rodgers and more Rodgers.
“Obviously, Aaron is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this game,” Douglas said. “To have an opportunity to add a player of that caliber, you’re always going to look into it and how it fits within our culture, within our team.
“We’re all excited to add someone of his character and his ability.”
The deal was not official yet because the teams and Rodgers still needed to finalize a few things.
Rodgers was reworking his contract with the Packers on Tuesday to provide Green Bay some salary-cap relief.
Rodgers was traveling to New Jersey on Tuesday night and will undergo a physical on Wednesday.
Once Rodgers passes his physical, the trade is expected to be completed Wednesday and Rodgers is scheduled to meet the media at 2 p.m.
Rodgers is also expected to redo the contract again once he comes to the Jets, to provide some salary cap relief to help his new team continue to build around him.
The Jets gave up a lot to land the four-time MVP, sending the Packers a 2023 second-round draft pick this year, swapping first-round picks this year and giving up a 2024 conditional pick, which is likely to become a first-rounder.
The Jets gave up a lot to land the four-time MVP, sending the Packers a 2023 second-round pick this year, swapping first-round picks this year and giving up a 2024 conditional pick, which is likely to become a first-rounder.
Even though the price tag was high, Douglas said the Jets are happy with the terms of the trade.
The teams also swapped late-round picks this year.
“We’re comfortable with how this deal is shaped,” Douglas said. “In any negotiation, I don’t think anyone ever walks away from a negotiation where you feel like you won everything in terms of what’s gone back and forth. Ultimately, our goal from the beginning was to add Aaron to the team. So, we were able to agree to terms to that [Monday]. I’m just excited to get him here.”
Douglas said one of the last pieces of the deal was the pick-swap in the first round this year.
The Jets will now pick No. 15 and the Packers will pick No. 13.
Aaron Rodgers traded to the Jets
On Monday, after months of speculation and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The trade immediately upgrades the Jets from rising team to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will help break one of the longest active postseason droughts in sports.
The trade
The Jets receive: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 pick (2023) and No. 170 pick (2023).
The Packers receive: No. 13 pick (2023), No. 42 pick (2023), No. 207 pick (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft pick that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ plays in 2023.
What comes next
The trade still needs to be finalized — the terms of Rodgers’ contract need to be worked out — and sent to the NFL.
Both teams will begin feeling this deal as early as Thursday at the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Green, it’s about getting a whole host of new faces on the same page offensively.
“At the end of the day, we needed to have 13 players we were really excited about,” Douglas said. “Now we have to have 15 players that we’re really excited about. I feel comfortable that we have that.”
There is a belief inside the Jets organization that Rodgers won’t just be a one-year player for them.
Douglas would not venture that far in his press conference, ducking the question of whether Rodgers has given the Jets any indication that he will play in 2024.
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“I don’t want put any words in Aaron’s mouth,” Douglas said. “You guys are going to have the opportunity at the right time to ask him those specific questions. We’re obviously excited about this opportunity, excited about this deal and excited to add him to the team.”
Douglas also would not say whether Rodgers has told the Jets he will be a participant in the voluntary offseason program this spring.
Rodgers, 39, is coming off a disappointing 2022 season, but Douglas said the Jets have belief that he can be a great quarterback for them.
“He’s not very far removed from back-to-back MVPs [in 2020 and 2021],” Douglas said. “Maybe he didn’t play at 100 percent throughout the year, but he still performed at a high level. Obviously, he’s going to be able to come in here and his relationship with Nathaniel [Hackett, the Jets’ offensive coordinator], his relationship with some of the other players that are on the team, obviously it’s an adjustment when you’ve played somewhere for 18 years, but I feel like with the people we have in place he can get comfortable quickly.”
