It’s been nearly nine months since the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets officially agreed to a blockbuster deal sending longtime Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to New York in exchange for draft capital.
The move, however, has perhaps not quite lived up to the billing thus far after Rodgers’ season-ending injury on the first drive of the season.
ESPN Bet Promo Code Aaron Rodgers Trade Details Packers receive: 2023 first-round pick (Lukas Van Ness) 2023 second-round pick (Luke Musgrave) 2023 sixth-round pick (Anders Carlson) 2024 second-round pick (conditional first-rounder if Rodgers played 65% of snaps in 2023) Jets receive:
Aaron Rodgers 2023 first-round pick (Will McDonald IV) 2023 fifth-round pick (used to trade down, took Jarrick Bernard-Converse and Zack Kuntz) Why Did Green Bay Deal Aaron Rodgers? Part of the Packers’ decision to move on from Rodgers came from his age (39 years old at time of trade) and perhaps a bit of a decline creeping up after years of productive seasons.
Rodgers completed 64.6% of his pass attempts for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 2022, all among the worst full-season tallies of his career.
That yardage mark was his lowest ever, the TD tally was among the lowest, and the interception total was the second most in his career and the most since his first season as the full-time starter in 2008.
Additionally, Green Bay appeared eager to finally get a true look at Jordan Love in game action after selecting him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Love had since made six sporadic appearances in 2021, including one start, along with four limited appearances in 2022.
Coming into his fourth year in the NFL, the Packers certainly wanted to see what they had in Love and whether he might be the ideal successor to Rodgers in the same way Rodgers had been to Brett Favre.
Ultimately, though, one of the main factors in the deal getting done was Rodgers requesting a trade to the Jets. Green Bay took its time getting the deal done but eventually did, and the rest is history.
Rodgers, however, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on just the third play of the Jets’ season-opening game.
Love, meanwhile, tore it up as a first-year starter in completing 64.2% of his pass attempts for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while also running for 247 yards and four more scores.
MORE: How Long Was Mike McCarthy the Packers Head Coach? Time will tell whether Rodgers has much of an impact for New York, but at this point, Green Bay looks like the clear winner of the trade based on Love’s play alone.
The franchise also netted some productive players from the draft capital it received in the deal, including tight end Luke Musgrave, who has caught 34 passes for 352 yards and one touchdown in 11 appearances this year.
Green Bay also took kicker Anders Carlson late in the draft.
He’s been a solid, if inconsistent, option at the spot thus far. All in all, the Packers are unlikely to have many regrets about doing the deal and certainly seem to have come out the better for it in getting plenty of value for the aging Rodgers.
The Jets, though, will have to hope Rodgers makes more of an impact in 2024 to justify the lost draft capital from the deal.
Green Bay is also back in the playoffs this year at 9-8 after missing out last season amid an 8-9 showing.
The Packers now aim to take their first playoff win since 2020 as they square off with the Dallas Cowboys. Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more! Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Fantasy Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Fantasy Podcast on our Fantasy YouTube channel.
