Rarely do I find myself agreeing with Florio, but I think this piece is more or less is in line with my thoughts on the matter...
The short of it is that IMO you could make a case that the Jets "need" to sign Rodgers more than the Packers "need" to get rid of him.
We signed Rodgers to that contract knowing we might have to pay it in 2023 (or beyond). I'm sure at this point we would *like* to move on but it's not like we will be unable to proceed for another season with Rodgers if that's the way it shakes out.
And of course the Jets *can* keep going with Wilson or whatever but that doesn't seem very feasible at this point. IMO they are a lot closer to "win now" mode than we are right now.
It also sure seems at the moment like GB is happy to wait for people to come to them. Maybe I've missed it but it doesn't sound like we are "shopping" Rodgers around or advertising that we'll trade him, but we'll pick up the phone if someone calls. Again, maybe I've missed it, but I'm under the impression that it was New York who started the ball rolling enquiring about a Rodgers trade rather than GB reaching out to New York and asking if they'd be interested. In the same way, as Florio notes, the Jets went to Rodgers personally, they didn't ask Rodgers to come to them - seems like at the moment they themselves are not dictating a lot of the conversations. While GB and Rodgers himself have both more or less said "all options are on the table," the Jets and the New York media have basically made it out to be Rodgers or bust for them at this point.
Ironically though overall it feels like a situation where none of the three parties really have a ton of leverage, there's no clear-cut player with a trump card to be played or something IMO.
Green Bay wants to move on from Rodgers; it's expensive to keep him and practically speaking they'd likely have to trade Love if Rodgers stays. But their leverage is limited by Rodgers' age, contract, and the fact that there just aren't many suitors for him.
The Jets want to bring in Rodgers. Wilson is a flop and they need something other than a pedestrian middle-of-the-road QB. They have a solid team who they believe to be a decent QB away from being a serious contender. Their leverage is limited by the fact that they don't have a ton of options at QB available to them (as I've said before, it seems like basically Lamar or Rodgers at this point, with no indications they're seriously in on Lamar), they've drummed up their fans to expect a big splash signing, and they don't have a great fallback plan available.
And even Rodgers' leverage is a bit limited. It's now three years of the Rodgers-circus in Green Bay and in many ways it feels like the train has left the station. If the Packers organization is ready to move on but Rodgers wants to force a return to GB, I don't think that will be particularly well-received. I think he and the team have done a lot to patch up that relationship and I don't think he'd want to undo that (and damage his Packer-legacy) by forcing them to keep him around. But if he retires he gives up 60m and has to share the HoF spotlight with Brady. And he doesn't have a ton of options to turn to, either. If the Jets decide they're out, what's he do next?
Pretty fascinating dynamics all around IMO.
The short of it is that IMO you could make a case that the Jets "need" to sign Rodgers more than the Packers "need" to get rid of him.
We signed Rodgers to that contract knowing we might have to pay it in 2023 (or beyond). I'm sure at this point we would *like* to move on but it's not like we will be unable to proceed for another season with Rodgers if that's the way it shakes out.
And of course the Jets *can* keep going with Wilson or whatever but that doesn't seem very feasible at this point. IMO they are a lot closer to "win now" mode than we are right now.
It also sure seems at the moment like GB is happy to wait for people to come to them. Maybe I've missed it but it doesn't sound like we are "shopping" Rodgers around or advertising that we'll trade him, but we'll pick up the phone if someone calls. Again, maybe I've missed it, but I'm under the impression that it was New York who started the ball rolling enquiring about a Rodgers trade rather than GB reaching out to New York and asking if they'd be interested. In the same way, as Florio notes, the Jets went to Rodgers personally, they didn't ask Rodgers to come to them - seems like at the moment they themselves are not dictating a lot of the conversations. While GB and Rodgers himself have both more or less said "all options are on the table," the Jets and the New York media have basically made it out to be Rodgers or bust for them at this point.
Ironically though overall it feels like a situation where none of the three parties really have a ton of leverage, there's no clear-cut player with a trump card to be played or something IMO.
Green Bay wants to move on from Rodgers; it's expensive to keep him and practically speaking they'd likely have to trade Love if Rodgers stays. But their leverage is limited by Rodgers' age, contract, and the fact that there just aren't many suitors for him.
The Jets want to bring in Rodgers. Wilson is a flop and they need something other than a pedestrian middle-of-the-road QB. They have a solid team who they believe to be a decent QB away from being a serious contender. Their leverage is limited by the fact that they don't have a ton of options at QB available to them (as I've said before, it seems like basically Lamar or Rodgers at this point, with no indications they're seriously in on Lamar), they've drummed up their fans to expect a big splash signing, and they don't have a great fallback plan available.
And even Rodgers' leverage is a bit limited. It's now three years of the Rodgers-circus in Green Bay and in many ways it feels like the train has left the station. If the Packers organization is ready to move on but Rodgers wants to force a return to GB, I don't think that will be particularly well-received. I think he and the team have done a lot to patch up that relationship and I don't think he'd want to undo that (and damage his Packer-legacy) by forcing them to keep him around. But if he retires he gives up 60m and has to share the HoF spotlight with Brady. And he doesn't have a ton of options to turn to, either. If the Jets decide they're out, what's he do next?
Pretty fascinating dynamics all around IMO.
