The Green Bay Packers have been told to demand two first round draft picks for wantaway quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 39-year-old publicly declaring he wants to play for the New York Jets on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday.
Rodgers has been tangled in a trade saga between his Packers and the Jets for some time and a deal is still not close to being completed with his contract still reportedly needing to be restructured and a compensation package ironed out. The four-time MVP isn’t a free agent either, having signed a monster new contract with the Packers last offseason to earn $50.27million (£41.3m) per year through the 2026 season.
US sports pundit Stephen A. Smith says the Packers should demand two first round draft picks as compensation for one-time Super Bowl winner Rodgers. When asked on ESPN what Rodgers is worth, Smith said: “Absolutely a first round pick. Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game still. At Least one as far as I’m concerned.”
He later added: “Let me be very, very clear. If you had to give up two first round picks to get Aaron Rodgers, I think you should do it if you’re the New York Jets. I will remind everybody, this is not just about the greatness of Aaron Rodgers, Okay? Alright. It’s not just about that.
“It’s about the perpetual futility of the New York Jets. They haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1968. They haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1968.”
The Jets haven’t been to the playoffs in over a decade and Smith says that alone calls for “desperate measures”. Smith declared: “By the way, since 2010, not only have they not been in a Super Bowl - they haven’t been in [the] playoffs. [The] New York Jets haven’t been in the playoffs since 2010.
“So when you are that futile, when you are that inept, when you are that moribund, as a franchise - for years, for decades spanning over 50 years, desperate times call for desperate measures. As far as I’m concerned, if it takes… I would say one but if it requires two first round picks, dammit give it to them.”
Smith’s opinion didn’t come with pushback, though, with ex-Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson questioning whether Rodgers was worth going all out for, considering he could decide to retire next year. He said: “Yeah I’m not going to be able to do that, Stephen A., I’m sorry. Well, one; I’ve got an ageing quarterback who can still play.
“But I’ve also got a quarterback that’s got one foot in and one foot out. He may retire next year. He wants to play THIS year for the New York Jets, so why would I give up a first round pick, let alone two, to get a guy that may decide to do something different come January 2024?”
