What Aaron Rodgers' trade to the New York Jets means for Zach Wilson

AROUND THE SHIELD — Aaron Rodgers' time in Green Bay has come to a close, but what does it mean for Zach Wilson's time in the Big Apple?

The New York Jets brought one of the bigger stories of the NFL offseason to a close by agreeing to a deal with the Green Bay Packers for four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and the Associated Press. So what does that mean for the incumbent?

The Jets will receive Rodgers, the No. 15 picks in the 2023 NFL draft and a 2023 fifth-round pick, according to Schefter, in exchange for a package that includes the No. 42 pick in the second round, No. 207 pick in the sixth round, and a conditional pick in the 2024 second round if Rodgers plays in at least 65% of his games this year for the Jets.

Terms of the deal were not released, though Rodgers was due $59.9 million in guaranteed money under his Packers contract, according to ESPN. But safe to say, Rodgers probably isn't coming to New York to sit on the bench and back up Wilson.

Rodgers, 39, took time off during the offseason for an isolation retreat in Oregon to contemplate his career and playing future in the NFL before emerging with an idea on his future, he told media personality Pat McAfee on his SiriusXM radio show March 15.

"I've made it clear that my intention was to play and my intention was to play for the New York Jets," Rodgers said before beginning a lengthy session of deliberations and negotiations involving his former team and new team.

The 18-year quarterback with 59,055 passing yards, 475 touchdowns and 105 interceptions in two decades in Green Bay is just a year removed from back-to-back AP Most Valuable Player awards in 2020 and 2021, and would initially supplant a 24-year-old starting quarterback out of BYU who is going into the third season of his four-year rookie deal.

Wilson was set to hit the Jets' cap at $9.6 million in 2023, with a dead-money charge of $20 million, according to Over The Cap. That number drops to $11.2 million in dead money next year if the Corner Canyon product hits the final year of his deal.

Starting immediately as a rookie, Wilson's career got off to a promising start when he completed 55% of his passes for 2,334 yards and nine touchdowns (with 11 interceptions) and ran for four more scores after being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

But his career hit a wall a year ago, when Wilson played in just nine games and threw for 1,688 yards and six touchdowns with seven interceptions. He was benched midway through the season for Mike White. Wilson returned for a pair of losses to the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars in weeks 15 and 16. But he did not play the final two games of the season due to injury as the Jets ended the season on a six-game losing skid

That prompted an offseason of speculation, with Rodgers becoming an early target of trade rumors and prognasticating. Wilson grew up admiring the former Cal quarterback while attending Utah games with his season ticket-holding family in Draper, and it was thought that a year backing up the NFL great could be good to reset Wilson's own career.

"Ideally, and the Jets know pulling this off will be tricky, Wilson would back up Rodgers for a year or two, develop in the background and be in position to take over for him in 2024 or 2025, depending on how much longer the current Packer/likely-soon-to-be Jet wants to play," wrote Albert Breer of the MMQB, who has extensively chronicled the relationship between Rodgers and Wilson that includes several combined team practices and offseason training.

"The Jets, for their part, think he needs it," Breer added. "And it sounds like Wilson is pretty open to the idea of learning from Rodgers (with whom he has a relationship) for the time being."

And Rodgers, for his part, admires the young Wilson as the duo have interacted.

"I think he's super talented," he told McAfee. "I think a little humility is good for all of us, at various times in our careers.

"For him, it's just gonna be humility — lean into that — and just consistently working on the fundamentals. I think he's so talented, but the best in the business can make all the plays outside the pocket, can move around fundamentally inside the pocket."

From Green. Bay to New York, Rodgers goes from a quarterback room that included former Utah State standout Jordan Love to one that features the one-time BYU star. The former No. 26 overall pick was brought in as Rodgers' heir apparent, though he's had few opportunities to play meaningful minutes in his three years in the league.

But Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love is "absolutely" ready to be a starting quarterback.

"He needs to play," Gutekunst told USA Today. "I think that's the next step in his progression."

"I think it takes most of these quarterbacks a little bit of time to learn how to win," he added, "and it's one thing to play well and make throws and make plays but then it's another thing to lead your team to wins.

"And I think that takes time."

Last season, Love completed just 14-of-21 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, bringing his career total to 606 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He's due $3.9 million in the final year of his rookie contract, according to Over The Cap, while the Packers face a May 1 deadline for a fifth-year option that includes $20.27 million in salary, according to USA Today.

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