Analyst: Jets Trade For Aaron Rodgers Could Go Down As Worst In NFL History

When the New York Jets traded for superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers last offseason, the bar in NY was set extremely high.

That bar came crashing to the ground when Rodgers was carted off the field with a season-ending Achilles injury a few plays into the Jets’ season opener, but it’s since been raised again with a fully healthy Rodgers taking plenty of reps at training camp.

However, former quarterback-turned-NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky recently stated on an episode of “First Take” that if the Jets don’t get a championship run or two during Rodgers’ tenure, the trade to acquire him could be one of the biggest failures ever.

“I compare it to the Russell Wilson situation,” Orlovsky said . “The Wilson trade for the Denver Broncos is widely viewed as one of the worst trades in the history of the NFL. If this doesn’t go well for the Jets, this is in that conversation. The Jets traded for a guy that was a two-out-of-three-year MVP-winning quarterback. If they don’t get anything for it, this is going to go down in (GM) Joe Douglas’ resume as a complete disaster.

“This is one of the best defenses the Jets have in the NFL. You’re going to waste Sauce Gardner? You’re going to waste Quinnen Williams? You’re going to waste some of the defensive talent? Garrett Wilson is one of the best receivers. I’ll stand on that — not young, best. If this doesn’t go well, we’re then wasting the young years of some of this young talent.”

Orlovsky’s remarks seem a bit sensationalized considering what the Wilson trade actually cost the Broncos.

Denver traded the No. 9, 40 and 145 overall picks in 2022, the No. 5 and 37 overall picks in 2023 plus tight end Noah Fant, defensive tackle Shelby Harris and quarterback Drew Lock for Wilson, then paid him $124.02M to go 11-19 in two seasons before eating $85M in dead cap just to get rid of him.

The Jets acquired Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers last offseason in exchange for first-, second- and sixth-round picks in 2023 plus an additional second-rounder in 2024. Rodgers played just four snaps before tearing his Achilles and missing the rest of the season, but he appears to be a full-go for 2024.

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