Former Jets QB offers update on Aaron Rodgers trade talks

Former New York Jets quarterback and current "The NFL Today" analyst Boomer Esiason has offered an update on trade talks regarding Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers. 

Per Ryan Chichester of Audacy, Esiason said during Wednesday's edition of the WFAN morning show that a deal between the two clubs is "very close" but hasn't happened yet due to questions the Jets have about Rodgers playing beyond the 2023 season. 

Specifically, Esiason and co-host Gregg Giannotti were reacting to how Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported late Monday night that the Jets and Packers were still discussing "protection for draft pick compensation in the event that Rodgers doesn’t play in the 2024 NFL season." 

Esiason, who has repeatedly insisted it's a matter of when and not if Rodgers will end up with the Jets, directly said Wednesday that Gang Green doesn't know if the future Hall of Famer will want to retire next winter. 

"That pick, that protection pick, works both ways," Esiason explained. "It works for Green Bay if the Jets have a really successful run and Rodgers plays in the majority of the games…and then if he comes back. Then the pick for the Packers would be higher. If the Jets play and let’s say he gets hurt or they don’t make it far enough, and he’s not coming back for a second year, then they don’t want to give something up for that." 

Rodgers signed a massive extension with the Packers in March 2022 but has acknowledged he'll almost certainly have to adjust his deal to play another season with any team. However, the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player who turns 40 years old this coming December claimed shortly after this past season he could walk away from millions upon millions of dollars and retire because he's already "made a ton of" money from his football contracts. 

Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Joe Douglas made it known this week that landing Rodgers is plan A and B as it pertains to improving at quarterback this offseason. While Esiason still sounds convinced the Jets will eventually get their man, fans understandably would prefer for the deal to be announced sooner rather than later.