Insider debunks 49ers-Aaron Rodgers theory amid Jets uncertainty
Green Bay Packers beat writer Matt Schneidman of The Athletic isn’t sold that the San Francisco 49ers will swoop in and steal quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the New York Jets.
In a piece shared on Friday, Schneidman explained that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst wants draft assets for “this year, not next” in return for Rodgers. It is believed that the Jets could send a 2023 second-round pick and possibly a second-round choice for next year, along with a player, to the Packers for the future Hall of Famer and a conditional draft selection.
“San Francisco’s first three picks in the draft come in a four-pick span — in the third round,” Schneidman wrote. “The 49ers own pick Nos. 99, 101 and 102. Not only are those far too late to include in any deal for Rodgers, but Gutekunst should never want a third-round pick, regardless, given his history drafting in that round.”
For a piece published this past November, Zach Kruse of Packers Wire/USA Today noted how Gutekunst has been responsible for multiple third-round flops during his Green Bay tenure.
According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, guard Sean Rhyan, taken by the Packers in the third round of last year’s draft, finished his rookie season serving a suspension related to performance-enhancing substances and essentially experienced a red-shirt campaign before that ban.
Schneidman was responding to how New York sports radio host and Fox Sports personality Craig Carton suggested on multiple occasions this week that the 49ers could make a move for Rodgers if the Jets and Packers didn’t soon finalize a trade.
Former Jets quarterback and current “The NFL Today” analyst Boomer Esiason, Carton’s WFAN colleague, later poured cold water over the theory for multiple reasons and made it known that Gutekunst would look bad to other executives if he pulled out of the Jets deal at this point of the process.
Unless Gutekunst changes his mind about what he is willing to accept in return for Rodgers, it sounds like just about every league insider expects the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player will eventually make his way to the Jets either before or during the draft.
