It’s been a week since Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a public appeal for the Packers to be more moderate in their expectations of the New York Jets. No team has shifted their position in the last seven days.
As Rodgers has said, the Packers are staying firm and waiting for the draught to make a move. Yet, in my view, the matter has devolved into something petty and personal.
This is a professional scenario, not a personal one, and it’s time for the Jets to be more forceful and give the Packers the business. The New York Jets, or more accurately, the New Jersey Jets, must adopt some of the mindsets that their supporters display when dealing with tough individuals in difficult circumstances.
The Jets must take the initiative and be offensive while informing the Packers how it will be. Packers CEO Mark Murphy has abruptly decided to zip it, and they realise they’re deceiving themselves by appearing as if they had the upper hand.
The Packers owe Rodgers over $60 million in fully guaranteed pay for 2023, and if he isn’t traded by Week One, his $58.3 million roster bonus will become his basic salary for 2023, sending his cap figure skyrocketing.
Many wise people believe that the Packers have the upper hand in this situation, and most of the media has agreed. The Jets, on the other hand, don’t need Rodgers right now, and they arguably don’t need him for OTAs, particularly given he knows the playbook like the back of his huge hand, and he probably doesn’t want to show up until training camp either.
It is always vital in a deadline-driven firm to get two negotiating parties to agree on a deadline. The Packers feel the draught is the deadline, but the Jets should take the initiative and declare that the deadline is the start of training camp.
The Jets should make a firm offer that will be available until the 2023 draught. After the 2023 draught, the non-negotiable offer will shift to the 2024 draught and, if Rodgers plays in 2024, maybe the 2025 draught. The Jets should inform the Packers that the firm offer is still on the table until training camp begins.
Simultaneously, Rodgers should inform the Packers that if he is not moved before the opening of training camp, he will show up, just like Brett Favre did 15 years ago. He should also inform the Packers that he fully intends to participate in practise, increasing the likelihood that he will have a season-ending injury, putting the Packers squarely on the hook for his whole pay package.
The Jets and Rodgers will need to work together and commit to pull this off, but the Packers have been punking the Jets because they think they can. The Jets must respond forcefully to ensure the Packers understand they do not have the upper hand in this circumstance.
Adopting a tough stance with the Packers would have a side effect. Rodgers plainly wants someone to take up his cause that the Packers are being stubborn about. If the Jets urge the Packers to put their cheese up their asses, Rodgers will be even more motivated to reward the Jets with a fantastic performance in 2023.
Rodgers will inevitably become a Jet. That will happen at the absolute least right before Week One, and the practical cutoff is the start of camp. The sooner the Packers recognise they don’t have the upper hand here, the sooner the transaction will be completed and everyone can go on.
The simplest way to do this is for the Jets to begin behaving like they’re from a state where the state bird is the middle finger.
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Photo by: reuters
