Aaron Rodgers trade talks are stalled, but Packers president Mark Murphy won’t say why
Something is holding back Aaron Rodgers’ supposedly imminent trade from the Packers to the Jets, but Green Bay president Mark Murphy offers no answers.
“I can’t really get into that,” Murphy told reporters on Tuesday. ‘I know [Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst] And [Jets general manager Joe Douglas] have talked.’
Murphy’s statement is hardly a revelation. Discussions between the Jets’ Douglas and Packers’ Gutekunst have been going on for weeks since Rodgers made it clear last month that he wanted to play for New York.
Neither the Packers nor the Jets have set a hard deadline for pre-draft negotiations, and Douglas recently reassured fans that Rodgers will play in green next season.
“He’s coming,” Douglas told WFAN host and former Jets quarterback, Boomer Esiason.
Something is holding back Aaron Rodgers’ supposedly imminent trade from the Packers to the Jets, but Green Bay president Mark Murphy offers no answers
From the Packers’ perspective, trading Rodgers would free up much-needed cap space to fill out the Green Bay roster centered around new starting quarterback, Jordan Love.
Gutekunst previously said the Packers are not pushing for the Jets’ No. 13 overall roster in the first round of the NFL Draft. However, it is believed that Green Bay is looking for multiple draft picks from New York.
“Again, Brian’s working on that,” Murphy said. “I have been actively involved. There’s really nothing more to say.’
Murphy prepares for a five-day tailgate tour of Wisconsin to promote the team.
‘I expect quite a few questions [about Rodgers on the tour] and I expect to say there is no update,” Murphy added. “It’s interesting, 15 years ago, similar situation – which was my very first Tailgate Tour, by the way.”
Murphy was referring to the Brett Favre trade in 2008, when the Packers sent the future Hall of Famer to the Jets for a conditional fourth-round pick.
Rodgers took over as the Packers’ starting quarterback after the trade before winning a Super Bowl and four MVP awards with Green Bay.
“Well, I’m really glad Aaron Rodgers turned out to be such a good quarterback and I hope Jordan Love turned out to be such a quarterback,” Murphy said before turning to the bus. “And with that I’m leaving.”
Jets GM Joe Douglas recently reassured fans that Rodgers will play in green next season
Brian Gutekunst previously said that the Packers are not pushing for number 13 from the Jets
Rodgers, 39, signed a three-year, $150.815 million contract extension in March 2022. He will earn $59.5 million in 2023. However, due to his salary structure, he would only count $15.8 million toward his Jets’ salary cap in 2023 and $32.5 million for 2024, according to ESPN.
Meanwhile, the Packers would still have $40.3 million of Rodgers’ 2023 salary on their books in case he is traded. That’s a whopping 18 percent of the NFL’s $224.8 million salary cap for this year.
Rodgers was named league MVP in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021, but is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022. He completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as the Packers (8 -9) missed the playoffs.
Familiar faces await him in New York. The Jets last month signed former Packers receiver Allen Lazard to a reported four-year, $44 million deal, and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett held the same position in Green Bay from 2019-21.
In March, Rodgers said he planned to play for the Jets in 2023, and the two teams have been in negotiations ever since.
“The Packers are eager to move on. They let me know that in so many words, they let other people know that in direct words,” Rodgers said during a March 15 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“And because I still have that fire and I want to play, I’d love to play in New York. It’s just a matter of getting that done now.’