ESPN’s Mike Greenberg has entered the “what’s taking so long with the Rogers trade” conversation. After Adam Schefter claimed that the two sides haven’t talked since the owners’ meetings last month, the life-long Jets fan and host of Get Up used a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show to share what his sources have told him.
“I’ve heard that [Rodgers] has sent signals to the Jets that there is no reason for them to rush,” Greenberg said. “That he’s not coming until May anyway so they’re not missing out on anything right now. So they should hold out as long as it takes and that ultimately they won’t wind up having to trade the No. 13 pick in the draft, which is what I think this ultimately comes down to.”
“I think this is all about the Jets wanting to draft an offensive tackle at 13 and Aaron Rodgers wanting them to draft an offensive tackle,” Greenberg continued. “They will just hold out until the draft, and they think the Packers will eventually say, ‘We’ll take slightly less than we want because we want pieces to put around, or in front of, Jordan Love this year, not wait until next year.’”
This all comes just a day after David Bakhtiari suggested the Packers could just sit on Rodgers deal.
“The Packers are rebuilding, whether you think so or not…So then they’ll be like, ‘Well, we’re gonna suck anyways. We want what we want, and we’re not gonna bend to anyone. So we’ll just eat it. . . . We’ll pay you, we don’t care. If we’re gonna do it our way, it’s gonna be on our terms. If not, what are we gonna be, Super Bowl contenders anyway? So we’ll eat it, you can hang on the side. We’ll pay you your money, and then we’ll suck anyways, get the picks, as compared to dealing him for something that you shouldn’t have.
As much as Greenberg presents with a bias, I think he’s absolutely spot on here. If the top tackle is available on the board there is no world where the Jets are trading the first round pick. Rodgers has spent his whole career with elite offensive lines. Line is the one place that Jets are truly lacking. It’s easy to see the quarterback and organization being in sync here.
It does raise the question of what happens if the top tackle is off the board? Do the Jets become more willing to trade that pick? Does that change the overall structure of the deal? Jets general manager Joe Douglas is known for offering several different versions of the same deal and letting the opposing side pick their path.
Perhaps this was what Peter King was referring to when he first confidently reported his timeline for a deal.
“It really doesn’t matter when this deal is going to get done. It’s going to get done.” King stated confidently on The Herd. “And that’s why honestly I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that it hasn’t happened yet…This thing will get done before the draft. If I’m wrong I will come on your show and you can pelt me with tomatoes. But this is going to happen before the draft because the Packers do not want to get zero return in this year’s draft For Aaron Rodgers. So I believe part of the compensation will be a two this year and then it’ll be something else in the future draft and that’s the way it should be.”
Although there will be those who try to frame this as pettiness on behalf of Rodgers, I can’t imagine how you could possibly blame him. He’s not trying to stick it to Green Bay. He’s just trying to give himself the best situation possible. For better or worse Rodgers’ frustrations and pettiness usually, like most great players, come back to that singular core issue. Are they in the absolutely best situation possible to try to win a Super Bowl.
As a Packers fan, I hope the deal continues to drag out if only so I can watch Mike Greenberg continue to have to wait. His wife has documented the process and it has been fantastic.
It’s all pretty ridiculous but it’s hard to stop watching and listening.
