Packers OT suggests Green Bay could still keep Aaron Rodgers from Jets

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari believes his employer could hold onto quarterback Aaron Rodgers if the New York Jets don't meet the asking price for the future Hall of Famer. 

As shared by Garrett Podell of CBS Sports, Bakhtiari explained during the latest edition of the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast that the Packers most likely are "rebuilding" without Rodgers and, thus, can wait for the Jets out through the summer months and even beyond if necessary. 

"...They [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]," Bakhtiari said. "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." 

Even after Rodgers made it known during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" last month that he intends to play for the Jets in 2023-24, multiple NFL insiders pointed out that Green Bay doesn't have to do anything with the $58.3M option bonus attached to the signal-callers contract until Week 1 of the upcoming season. While Packers president and chief executive officer Mark Murphy has indicated on multiple occasions the club is ready to start 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love at QB, that doesn't mean Green Bay will give Rodgers to the Jets at a discounted price before or during the draft that gets underway on April 27. 

Bakhtiari, who is very close with Rodgers, admitted he believes the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player is "going to be a Jet" and that the Packers ultimately will receive "whatever picks they want" in a trade. 

"He'll get traded, they'll [the Packers] get what they want and then time will probably say who won what," Bakhtiari continued. "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."

There was speculation as recently as last week that the "somewhere else" could become the San Francisco 49ers, but that seems far-fetched unless talks between the Packers and Jets completely fall apart. 

Meanwhile, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned that "it’s unlikely that the Packers would play hardball to the point that they pay Rodgers nearly $60M to not play" but that "the fact that the possibility has landed on Bakhtiari’s radar screen justifies putting it on ours" ahead of the draft. In short, Jets general manager Joe Douglas may have spiked the football at the two-yard line when he declared at an event this past Friday night that Rodgers is "gonna be here."