One of Rodgers’ current teammates with the Green Bay Packers is thinking the team might play 4D chess amid a looming trade of the quarterback to the New York Jets. There are a variety of viewpoints on both sides when it comes to discussing which party has the advantage in the supposedly endless trade talks for Aaron Rodgers.
David Bakhtiari, who is also one of Rodgers’ closest friends in the NFL, thinks the trade will get done at exactly the right time, before the 2023 NFL Draft.
However, he also believes the Packers could very well blow up the deal if they don’t get the compensation they’re looking for.
“The Packers are rebuilding whether you think so or not,” Bakhtiari said. “[People will say] ‘Could they be good, I don’t know.’ More people are going to think they’re [the Packers] going to be more bad than good, right? That’s fair to say. Then, they’ll [the Packers] will say ‘We’re going to suck anyways, we want what we want, and we’re not going to bend to anyone, so we’ll just eat it [Aaron Rodgers’ contract]. Stay unretired, we’ll pay you [Rodgers]. We don’t care because if we’re going to do it our way, it’s going to be on our terms. If not, what we’re going to be Super Bowl contenders anyways? We’ll eat it, you [Rodgers] can hang on the side, pay you [Rodgers] your money, we’ll suck anyways, and get the [high draft] picks.”
Bakhtiari added that Green Bay is willing to operate this way because the way this trade goes down will have a long-lasting impact on general manager Brian Gutekunst’s legacy and job security.
“As compared to dealing him [Rodgers] for something that you shouldn’t have, you [general manager Brian Gutekunst] could potentially look like an idiot to not only the [team] president and the board but to everyone else around the league, thinking in the GM’s perspective,” Bakhtiari continued. “[Could] put yourself on the hot seat and potentially have your job come called into question. I look at all these ways you can deal it. I don’t think it’d get that contentious. I do think they’ll [the Jets and Packers] probably come to an agreement. He’ll get traded, they’ll [the Packers] get what they want and then time will probably say who won what. I think that [holding on to Rodgers and his contract] could be a third option if things got so bad. If the Jets say ‘no we want this because we know we’re going to get him,’ he [Rodgers] could end up somewhere else.”
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Paying a four-time MVP an egregious amount of money to just chill is a bold strategy that the Packers’ front office would likely never agree to.
For the sake of all parties involved, the last week of April will hopefully be the last time leverage and potential trade packages for Rodgers are discussed with a deal being finalized ahead of the draft’s first round on April 27.
The 2022 season ended in disappointment for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday Night Football as the club was eliminated from playoff contention following a 20–16 home loss to the Lions. Nobody knew it at the time that it would be his last game for them ever.
The 2022 season ended in disappointment for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday Night Football as the club was eliminated from playoff contention following a 20–16 home loss to the Lions.
The Packers and Aaron Rodgers need to finally separate for the sake of both sides. Rodgers wants out and the Packers want him out. The only thing we need now is for both the Jets and Packers to figure it out.
