Four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers was officially traded to the Jets on Monday afternoon. In exchange for the 39-year-old quarterback, the Packers and Jets swapped first-round picks, and the Packers received the Jets’ second-round pick (No. 42) and sixth-round pick (No. 207). In addition to Rodgers, the Jets received the Packers’ fifth-round pick (No. 170). The Packers will also get a conditional second-round pick in 2024 that becomes a first-round pick if Rodgers plays at least 65% of the snaps.
The only mild surprise in the deal was the exchange of first-round picks. Moving from No. 15 to No. 13 is just two spots, but in a draft with 8 to 10 true blue-chip prospects, this puts the Packers in better position to land one of them. Or it could make their pick even more valuable in a trade down.
The conditional pick is more than fair to the Packers. They no longer have to be concerned about whether the mercurial Rodgers retires after this season, only that he stays healthy. And even if worse comes to worst and he fails to play 65% of the snaps, which has happened just twice in his career, the Jets second-round pick would likely wind up being in the top 40.
The return on this deal reinforces two things. The first is just how much Green Bay could’ve received for Rodgers last spring when he was a year younger and coming off of an MVP season. The second is how little the Packers got for 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback Brett Favre in 2008. While the circumstances were obviously different, a conditional fourth-round pick looks even worse now than it did then, and it looked pretty darn bad then.
Overall, considering Rodgers’ age, huge salary, and underwhelming play last season, this is a good deal for the Packers. How good will depend on what general manager Brian Gutekunst does with the two high picks he acquired.