Aaron Rodgers' Jets Trade Talks Were Reportedly Paused for Weeks: 'Really Weird S--t'

The New York Jets are all smiles now after finalizing the trade for Aaron Rodgers, but there was a time during negotiations with the Green Bay Packers when things weren't on solid ground.

Per ESPN's Rob Demovsky and Rich Cimini, Jets general manager Joe Douglas went two weeks without contacting Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst after the two sides had already been engaged in intense talks about a deal involving the four-time NFL MVP.

"It was really weird s--t," a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Demovsky and Cimini. "This should have been done in three or four days once talks started because [the final trade compensation] wasn't that far off from where it started."

Demovsky and Cimini noted it was Gutekunst who broke the silence when he called Douglas on April 21, and the deal was done three days later.

Rodgers announced on March 15 during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show he intended to play for the Jets in 2023.

Even though that was when the information became public, Demovsky and Cimini noted Rodgers' agent David Dunn told the Packers about his client's wishes before the NFL scouting combine began on Feb. 27.

The Jets spoke with Rodgers for the first time on March 6 after receiving permission to do so from the Packers one day earlier.

Shortly after Rodgers' appearance on McAfee's show, Demovsky and Cimini reported the Jets and Packers remained in contact with each other in an attempt to "to work through the final stages of a potential deal, which would include restructuring Rodgers' contract and agreeing on trade compensation."

As time passed with no deal in place, Demovsky and Cimini noted Jets owner Woody Johnson expressed concern about giving up future draft compensation after Rodgers told McAfee he was 90 percent leaning toward retirement before going on a darkness retreat in February.

The trade came through on April 24, with the Jets and Packers swapping first-round picks in 2023, plus a second-round and sixth-round pick in 2023 and a conditional second-rounder in 2024 that can become a first if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of the snaps this year going to Green Bay.

The Jets also got a 2023 fifth-round pick in the deal.

Rodgers reworked his contract to make the cap work for the Jets this season as part of the trade. He agreed to push his $58.3 million option bonus back one year to bring his total compensation in 2024 to $107.55 million, per Cimini.

Even though the deal took much longer to get done than anyone would have expected after Rodgers originally announced his plans, the Jets finally found a solution that worked for them to get an upgrade at quarterback they desperately needed.