As the Rodgers trade negotiations drone on it remains pertinent to follow and listen to Wisconsin-based sources. Don’t get me wrong Rich Eisen, Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd and others are great, but give me Demovsky and Schneidman and the people who live it every day to balance out the theatrics of the national pundits.
John Kuhn, Packers Legend and current host of Nine 2 Noon on IHeart, falls into that latter category. He may not be an insider but Kuhn is a consistent Packer defender and realist who tells it like it is.
Packer fans might not want to hear it but Kuhn laid out the most logical reason his favorite team will not land a first round pick for Rodgers. In discussion with his co-host Brian Butch, Kuhn said.
“It’s not that people don’t think Aaron Rodger] isn’t good, it’s that people don’t know if he will play more than one year.
“What I think is going on here is that everybody’s brain and everybody’s mind is warped by what DeShaun Watson got traded for last year and what Russell Wilson got traded for last year, and everybody thinks to themselves, ‘Man, if we would have traded Aaron Rodgers last year, we would have gotten what the Denver Broncos gave up for Russell Wilson.’
“Not necessarily true, but potentially that. But this is an entirely different situation. Let’s flip the script, Butchie. You’re a Jets fan, you’re in the Jets front office. Would you give up a first round pick for Aaron Rodgers?”
Butch replied:
“No. No, because I don’t know if we would have more than one year with him, John. That’s the issue here. I mean, I don’t know if I would have more than one year. I’m not giving that up. I’d give up a third, maybe a fourth. That’s where I’m at, and I were the Jets, I’m holding on.”
Kuhn continued:
“I agree with you. I think the Packers have to get this deal done, they have to get it done before the draft. they have to move on. And this drama isn’t going to be that bad. It’s going to start getting quiet and then it will speed up again in the days leading up to the draft. But I think that once the draft gets here, the Packers are going to have to take the best offer they get from the Jets at that point in time.”
Kuhn’s point is extremely logical and potentially difficult to swallow for Cheeseheads. You mean the wishy-washy nature of Aaron Rodgers, the personality that has annoyed the fanbase for the last few seasons, might be the reason we don’t get an adequate haul for him? That’s tough.
But maybe Peter King’s thoughts on a potential trade are the middle ground here? The deal could include an escalating draft pick based on Rodgers longevity with the Jets.
The fairest deal: Jets trade a second-rounder this year (43rd overall) and a conditional pick in 2025, not 2024, based on whether Rodgers plays football for New York in 2024. If he plays 100 snaps or more in 2024, the Jets give Green Bay a first-round pick. If Rodgers plays less than that, the Jets give Green Bay a third-rounder. So if Rodgers plays two years for New York, the price is a first- and a second-; if he plays one year, the price is a second- and a third-. I totally see Green Bay’s point about playing hardball for Rodgers, but the 13th pick in the draft for a guy who might play one year? I don’t see it. Unless Rodgers flat-out guarantees the Jets he’s there for two years, minimum, I’m not considering paying the 2023 one for him.
Maybe the Jets cave and the Packers get the 13th overall pick this season. But perhaps Green Bay should reign in their expectations on compensation just a bit and get ready for the potential that is the Jordan Love era.
Speaking of former Packers Hall of Famers, the largest man to ever wear the Green and Gold, Gilbert Brown recently weighed in on Rodgers ‘greatest Packer’ comments. Although Brown loves and appreciates Rogers, he didn’t hold back in his response.
“Only thing you can do is voice your opinion. My opinion is that right now, my home boy, Aaron Rodgers, is a clown. Yes he is.
I’m mad at him. Just like I was mad at Brett Favre when he left to go to the Vikings…Now I’m mad at Aaron Rodgers for his reasons. [But] He’s going to always be my homeboy.
This fool said he was the best Packer of all times of any era of anybody that stepped onto Lambeau Field with a “G” on the side of his helmet. How could you say something like that? Who would make a statement like that? If I had made a statement like that, I’d be having death threats in my email right now.
I couldn’t even fix my mouth to say something like that. That is not even your choice to say something like that. Whose choice is that to say that you’re the greatest player or not? The other players. The fans. The fans mostly, but you don’t tell the fans, ‘Oh by the way, I am the greatest Packer.’”
To be clear, Gilbert does think Rodgers is in the conversation of greatest Packer of all time; he just didn’t like hearing it from Rodgers himself. It’s not surprising given the unique loyalty and love that exists in Green Bay that a Packers legend would weigh in on what Rodgers said, but I certainly didn’t have my money on Gilbert Brown going scorched earth.
