NFL fans are still awaiting the trade of Aaron Rodgers between the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets, but the stalled move may be impacting Odell Beckham Jr's immediate future.
After weeks of silence, Rodgers finally announced that he intended to play for the Jets earlier this off-season, and the Packers gave him clearance to meet with the franchise in person. The Jets have prioritised a move for Rodgers since the end of last season, and it appeared a trade announcement would be imminent.
However, the move has still not been formally completed and Rodgers is, for now, still a Packers player. It's expected that the trade will still be completed without any complications, but it's also stopping Beckham Jr from committing to his future as a free agent.
That's according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who's claimed that Beckham Jr is keen to link up with Rodgers for the 2023 season. Beckham Jr missed the entirety of the 2022 season through injury, and has been a free agent ever since winning the Super Bowl with Los Angeles Rams to conclude the 2021 campaign.
After holding open workout sessions, Beckham Jr is still in high demand, with the Baltimore Ravens expressing interest in the talented wide receiver. But the Jets are also in the mix, and Beckham Jr is reportedly waiting for the Rodgers deal to go through before making his decision.
"Who would've thought that Aaron Rodgers might be the single factor holding up Odell's signing in the end?" Schefter said in an appearance on ESPN's NFL Live (via SNY ). "But I think everybody -- including Odell Beckham Jr. -- is waiting to see if and when the Jets get a deal done with Aaron Rodgers.
"At which point Odell Beckham Jr. would have some interest in uniting forces with Aaron Rodgers and, obviously, the interest would be mutual with Rodgers having mentioned Beckham's name to the Jets front office during their visit. So I think these two sides are waiting to see what happens.
"In the interim, the Baltimore Ravens have met with Odell Beckham Jr. They've presented him with their own offer. We'll see which Odell finds more interesting.
"But it certainly sounds like it's Jets, it's the Ravens, maybe the Rams still have an interest -- but those at this point in time, would be the obvious landing spots for Odell Beckham Jr. in what has been one of the longest free agent recruitments that we've ever seen."
