Shocking Trade Ideas Jets Should Pursue Before 2023 Season

The New York Jets made the biggest trade of the NFL offseason with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers right before the 2023 NFL draft.

The Jets spent most of the offseason building the framework of the deal that brought Rodgers to the AFC East. They brought in Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Mecole Hardman to work with Rodgers and to fill out the wide receiver depth behind Garrett Wilson.

New York has a good mix of veteran players and young stars surrounding Rodgers. If it can make one more splash on the trade market, it could be even more competitive in the AFC.

The Jets have to deal with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins within the division and the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs (among others) in the conference as a whole.

The top spots in the postseason bracket may already be reserved for a few of those teams, but if the Jets can somehow swing another blockbuster deal, they could compete for one of those spots and maximize Rodgers' time with the franchise.

Trade with Arizona for DeAndre Hopkins

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 12: DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Arizona Cardinals makes a catch against Myles Bryant #27 of the New England Patriots during the second quarter of the game at State Farm Stadium on December 12, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins has been at the center of trade rumors all offseason, but nothing has come to fruition yet. Arizona would be wise to dump Hopkins' salary on a team to collect more draft picks and further accelerate its rebuild.

Hopkins has a $30.75 million cap hit in 2023 and a $26.2 million cap hit in 2024, per Spotrac, which could put him out of the Jets' price range. They currently have only $19.2 million in cap space. But if they could figure out the finances, Hopkins could round out their receiving corps.

The Jets have a strong No. 1 wide receiver in Wilson, but the rest of their pass-catchers have been supporting pieces for their entire careers. Lazard, Cobb and Hardman have a single 1,000-yard season between them. (Cobb reached that milestone in 2014.)

There could also be injury concerns with the trio of wideouts, and you can lump Corey Davis into that conversation as well.

Hopkins would give the Jets two star wide receivers to match what the Bills and Dolphins have within the division. He could make them into even more of a legitimate threat to reach the Super Bowl.

Hopkins' salary makes the deal difficult to fathom. But if the Jets could restructure some contracts to get around the salary cap, they could take another big swing for a Super Bowl while Rodgers is around.

Take on Mike Evans' Expiring Contract

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TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 1: Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catches a pass past Keith Taylor Jr. #28 of the Carolina Panthers to score a touchdown during the second quarter of an NFL football game at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

If Hopkins proves to be too expensive, the Jets could instead try to land Mike Evans on a one-year rental from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Evans has a $23.7 million cap hit in 2023 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason, per Spotrac.

Tampa Bay's No. 1 wide receiver could be in for a miserable year as the franchise adjusts to life after Tom Brady. The Jets could try to take advantage of that by offering some draft compensation to the Bucs in exchange for one season of Evans.

The Bucs and Jets could split parts of Evans' salary, which would make the deal more palatable from the Jets' perspective.

Of course, the Jets brought in Lazard and Cobb for a reason. They worked with Rodgers for years and they feel comfortable together, but they are not top-tier wide receivers.

The lack of a second star wide receiver could be one of the Jets' downfalls in trying to maximize the next year or two with Rodgers.

Evans probably would not take a one-year deal to stay around in 2024, but he would at least be in Jets green in 2023 to help aid the goal of winning the Super Bowl.

Go After Austin Ekeler

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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 14: Austin Ekeler #30 of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card playoff game at TIAA Bank Field on January 14, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)

The Jets could go after another offensive weapon at running back to round out the depth around Rodgers.

Austin Ekeler is coming back to the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2023 season after adding $1.75 million in incentives to his contract, per ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. But things could always change before the season begins, or even within the campaign.

A trade for Ekeler would be shocking because the Chargers are a direct competitor for playoff spots in the AFC. The Jets also have a stable of young running backs led by Breece Hall, who is working his way back from a torn ACL that he suffered last October.

If Hall doesn't recover as anticipated, the Jets could look to the midseason trade market to make sure they take their best swing at a deep postseason run.

Ekeler's dual-threat ability out of the backfield would be intriguing to any contender in need of running back help. A trade might not cost much since he's s set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

An Ekeler deal seems unlikely for now, but if circumstances change at any point for either team, the Jets could try to go all-in by acquiring him.