NFL Execs Rip Aaron Rodgers Trade: 'Jets Gave Up Too Much'; May Blow Up in NY's Face

The New York Jets are certainly breathing a sigh of relief after working out an agreement to acquire Aaron Rodgers, but the terms of the agreed-upon trade have left a lot of people around the NFL very surprised.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday the Jets will get Rodgers, the No. 15 pick in the 2023 draft and a fifth-rounder this year from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for the No. 13, 42 and 207 picks this year and a conditional 2024 second-round pick that can become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of the plays in 2023.

Per The Athletic's Jeff Howe, one NFL executive said the Jets "gave up too much" for the four-time MVP.

Another executive told Howe that Rodgers is a "descending player" and he "could see this blowing up in the Jets' faces."

Even though Rodgers made it clear on March 15 that he intended to play for the Jets in 2023, the terms of the trade at least indicate the Packers found themselves with more leverage than initially seemed.

Green Bay not only got to move up two spots this year with the first-round pick swap, but there's a strong chance it will get the Jets' first-round selection next year.

Rodgers hasn't missed a game because of injuries since 2017, and the odds of him being bad enough that the Jets bench him to protect their 2024 first-round pick seem low.

The argument in favor of the Jets making this trade is they almost certainly would've been a playoff team last season with just average quarterback play. They were 7-4 after 11 games with Zach Wilson and Joe Flacco starting a majority of those contests.

A six-game losing streak to end the 2022 campaign kept the Jets out of the postseason for a 12th consecutive year.

Rodgers is going to a good spot with a talented roster that can help prove his decline last season was more about the offensive infrastructure in Green Bay than an indication age has caught up to him.

The 10-time Pro Bowler will play most of this season at the age of 39 (he turns 40 on Dec. 2). His 3,695 passing yards were his fewest in a season in which he started at least 15 games. He also threw 12 interceptions, one fewer than in the previous three years combined (13).

There's also a nonzero possibility Rodgers could retire after this season. He's teased walking away in each of the past two offseasons and admitted in March he was "90 percent retiring" after the 2022 campaign before going on his darkness retreat in February.

If the Jets make the playoffs and Rodgers plays well in 2023, it will make the price they paid to acquire him easier to accept. But it's a significant risk to take for an aging quarterback coming off one of the worst seasons of his career.