The New York Jets announced they were parting ways with quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Thursday, ending his time with the team after two seasons. It also means that the Green Bay Packers clearly won the trade they made with the Jets before the 2023 NFL Draft. Here is an analysis of the trade two years later:

The Packers Clearly Won the Aaron Rodgers Trade with the Jets: The Details of the Trade

After negotiations that dragged on for months, the Packers and Jets finally agreed to a deal for the four-time MVP quarterback.

The Jets acquired Rodgers from the Packers. In return, the Packers and Jets swapped first round picks in 2023, with the Packers moving up from the 15th pick to the 13th pick and the Jets moving back to 15.

The Packers also acquired a second-round pick in 2023, a sixth-round pick in 2023 and a conditional first round pick in 2024 which became a second rounder when Rodgers suffered an injury in the first offensive series of his first game with the Jets.

Here’s who the Packers took with the 2023 picks:

First Round: Edge Rusher Lukas Van Ness

Second Round: TE Luke Musgrave

Sixth Round: K Anders Carlson

The Packers traded the 2024 second round pick (41st overall) for a 2nd round pick (45th overall), a fifth- round pick and a sixth-round pick.

The Packers used those 2024 picks to add:

Second Round Pick: LB Edgerrin Cooper

Fifth Round Pick: OL Jacob Monk

Sixth Round pick part of trade with 2024 fourth rounder to move up to get S Evan Williams

Rodgers with the Jets

Rodgers joined the Jets before the 2023 season with a lot of fanfare. He was brought in to be the team’s savior. The future Hall of Fame quarterback who was going to take a young, talented team with an outstanding defense to their first Super Bowl in more than 50 years.

Unfortunately, Rodgers suffered an injury in the first series of his first game with the Jets and missed the rest of the 2023 season.

He returned healthy in 2024. The Jets bent over backwards to surround Rodgers with talent. They traded for Davante Adams, brought in Allan Lazard, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and many other players Rodgers wanted. The Jets also had talented weapons like Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson.

Despite this, Rodgers suffered through the worst statistical season of his career. The Jets went 5-12 and Rodgers had a quarterback rating of just 90.5. He threw 11 interceptions and averaged just 6.7 yards per attempt. Rodgers also created chaos and constant distractions around the team.

Rodgers ranked 21st among qualified quarterbacks in passer rating. He was tied with Joe Flacco and behind Geno Smith.

The Jets decided to move on from Rodgers after two seasons with the organization. They fired both their head coach and general manager during the 2024 campaign. The 41-year-old still has to decide whether he wants to retire or return for the 2025 season with a new team.

The Packers Clearly Won the Aaron Rodgers Trade with the Jets: The Packers Benefits

The Packers won the Rodgers trade in more ways than one. They managed to move on from Rodgers who was hurting the cap situation and seemed disengaged in his final season in Green Bay.

Green Bay turned the starting quarterback job over to Jordan Love who is younger, more mobile, and less of an off the field distraction than Rodgers. Despite playing through at least three injuries, Love finished the season ranked 12th among qualified quarterbacks with a 96.7 rating. He also carried a lower cap hit than his predecessor which allowed the Packers to sign free agents like Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs.

While GM Brian Gutekunst didn’t hit on all of the picks he accumulated from the Jets in this deal, both Cooper and Williams were All-Rookie picks this season. Musgrave and Van Ness still have the potential to become quality starters in this league. Monk served as a depth player as a rookie while Carlson was an inconsistent kicker in his one season in Green Bay.

Overall, the Packers eliminated a lot of unnecessary drama, freed up cap space, got a younger quarterback who was more productive, and added some picks who have already played useful roles on the team.

If you were to ask Gutekunst and then Jets GM Joe Douglas if they would do the deal again knowing what they know now, Gute would likely say yes while Douglas, who lost his job in part due to this deal,  would almost certainly say no.

This trade is already a win for the Packers. It still has the potential to be an even bigger one if the draft picks and Love continue to develop.

 

 

 

Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers

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