The New York Jets have been warned that the Green Bay Packers hold the trade advantage with a deal for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers yet to be agreed.
Rodgers, 39, stated his intention to play for the Jets last month on The Pat McAfee Show, however a deal between the two franchises over a trade is yet to be finalised. A deadline for a deal to be struck hasn’t been set but for the Packers to get any immediate help for new quarterback Jordan Love, a deal would need to be completed before the NFL Draft.
And on "Good Morning Football" on Tuesday morning, NFL Insider Scott Pioli was asked by Colleen Wolfe who he believes has more leverage in the impending trade negotiations. Pioli said that he believes that the Packers have the most leverage in the trade standoff.
In fact, Pioli has pinpointed Rodgers’ appearance on The Pat McAfee Show as the moment the Packers were able to take control of the situation. “I got to tell you, I think the person with the or the group people with the most leverage right now is the Green Bay Packers,” Pioli said. “And that happened during Aaron Rodgers' State of the Union address on the Pat McAfee show. He shifted everything into the hands of the Packers because he told the world he wasn't going to be there and he didn't want to be there.”
Pioli continued: “The Jets have said publicly they want him. They're going to take him. Everywhere you turn here, it looks like he's going. The Packers are sitting there every time someone says something and they're thinking, okay, these two twos might be great, but I might be able to get more."
Rodgers’ Packers career is as good as done, according to Pioli, who says the Jets have no choice but to stick to their guns with the deal. The Jets cannot back out.
“So to me, the player knows he's not going back,” Pioli concluded. “The team knows that they're not going to have to take him back. And there's no way that the Jets can ever back out of this deal.
“The way things have been talked about publicly, the way the Jets fan bases, the way the city of New York is right now about Aaron Rodgers. There's absolutely no turning back. So the leverage sits in the hands of the Packers right now."
The Jets’ pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr went up in flames after the free-agent wide receiver joined the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal. The New York-based franchise won’t want to take another loss this offseason.
