Quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be a New York Jet, but he was reportedly almost traded to the Denver Broncos last offseason.
Since the opening night of the 2021 NFL Draft, those who followed the league waited to see when Aaron Rodgers would leave the Green Bay Packers, due in part to reports of his desire to hold out. Nearly two years later, Rodgers is no longer a member of the Packers, as he expressed his desire to play for the New York Jets, and the two teams nearly finalized a trade.
It was quite possible that the Jets would never have been able to acquire Rodgers this year.
A former league executive told NFL Analysis Network that the Packers had nearly completed a trade to send Rodgers to the Denver Broncos last offseason. However, the deal fell through at the last minute, and the Broncos acquired Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks.
The exec says that the deal to send Rodgers to Denver would have given Green Bay three first-round picks, quarterback Drew Lock, and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
"The Broncos almost had a trade completed with the Packers for Aaron Rodgers before it fell through last-minute," said the exec. "Green Bay opted to run it back for one more season with Rodgers. The deal would have included three first-round picks, Drew Lock, and Jerry Jeudy. Denver pivoted to acquire Russell Wilson with a slightly lesser trade package."
Packers reportedly backed out of sending Aaron Rodgers to the Broncos at the last minute
Last offseason, Rodgers was heavily linked to the Broncos. After all, he was in search of a new contract, and the belief was that Denver would have done whatever it took to acquire him. Let's not forget that the Broncos have been unable to find a competent quarterback since Peyton Manning retired after their Super Bowl 50 win. There was the other obvious link to Denver in Nathaniel Hackett, Rodgers' offensive coordinator with the Packers, who had just been hired as the head coach of the team.
Ultimately, however, the Packers decided to give Rodgers a three-year, $150.8 million contract extension. That forced the Broncos to quickly move to acquire Wilson from the Seahawks.
The first year of having Wilson at quarterback didn't work out for Denver, as he struggled to get anything going on offense and looked like a shell of his former self. Hackett, meanwhile, was fired 15 games into the season, coming after an embarrassing Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
As for the Packers, they had a relatively younger wide receiver corps after trading away star Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. They missed out on the playoffs after losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 18. Rodgers then revealed that he would evaluate what he wants to do regarding his playing future.
Now, Rodgers is with the Jets, with Hackett as his offensive coordinator again. Wilson has a new head coach in Sean Payton. The Packers are moving forward with Jordan Love as the team's quarterback, in which they hope he will be their long-term answer.