Schefter: Packers, Jets “appear to be dug in” on Aaron Rodgers trade

The ESPN reporter claims that the two sides haven’t talked since the owners’ meetings last month

Early on Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets have made little to no progress on a potential trade of Aaron Rodgers in recent weeks. Nearly a month ago, Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show and publicly stated that his “intention” was to be a Jet in 2023. Since then, he’s been seen working out with former Packers receiver and current Jet Allen Lazard, who last month told TMZ Sports that he had “no worry” that Rodgers would end up coming to New York.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas even told a crowd of New York fans that Rodgers is “gonna be here” while at a radio event last week. One problem: Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst hasn’t approved of any trade of the four-time MVP as of yet.

On Wednesday, Schefter gave us an update on the situation, saying, “My understanding is that there hasn’t been a whole lot of conversation, if any, over the last couple of weeks going back to the owners’ meetings. Both sides now appear to be dug in.” That could explain why Green Bay president Mark Murphy, who is bouncing around Wisconsin on the Packers’ tailgate tour, stated that he doesn’t expect to speak on any Rodgers trade updates during the tour, which ends this weekend.

As Schefter pointed out, the 2023 NFL Draft is the hard deadline for immediate compensation coming back to Green Bay, but there are other deadlines on the horizon. For example, mid-June is when the Packers’ mandatory minicamp begins, which would demand an appearance of Rodgers on the practice field. At that point, injury risk could play a factor in trade leverage. A month earlier than that, Green Bay will start voluntary organized team activities, which Rodgers has missed in recent summers but could still technically show up for if he wants to make the situation messy.

Both Gutekunst and Murphy have stated that Rodgers would remain on their roster, “if things don’t work out the way we would want,” and their actions seem to back those words at this point. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson, the trade could be held up on the Jets wanting back a 2025 conditional pick, which has the potential to be a higher draft choice than the one the Packers would receive in 2024, should Rodgers retire after the 2023 season. In a doomsday scenario, Green Bay would only receive the value of a 2023 second-round pick back for Rodgers, should the Jets fall short of team goals tied to the escalation of New York’s offered 2024 selection and the quarterback retires next season.

Who knows who will blink first, but it seems pretty clear that this staring contest between Gutekunst and Douglas is going to go the distance. The only question is if the finish line is draft day 2023 or deep into the summer.