Report: No Progress Between Jets and Packers on Aaron Rodgers Since Owners Meetings

For those Jets fans claiming the comments from Joe Douglas at a New York event promising that the arrival of Aaron Rodgers was going to happen meant the deal was done, you may want to take a seat for this one.

Rich Cimini of ESPN New York claims that while Douglas was having a good time playing to a New York crowd, there has been no movement on the deal between the Jets and Packers since the owners meetings in Phoenix.  It was at those meetings that Douglas said he was “very optimistic” that a deal would get done, but the teams clearly hadn’t gotten to the finish line just yet.

Some context: This was a lighthearted moment at a private WFAN event. Douglas, being a good guest, was playing to a pro-Jets crowd. From my understanding, nothing has changed re: trade talks since the NFL meetings in Phoenix, where Douglas told reporters he was "very optimistic" https://t.co/MvGkm79CiS

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 8, 2023

While it would appear that by rule, the comments from Douglas would meet the league’s threshold for tampering, it would take a complaint being filed by the Packers which is extremely unlikely at this point.

How could it be tampering if the teams have permission to work out a trade, you ask?  Well, a quick look at the NFL bylaws show that tampering can happen in more ways than one when teams are talking trade.  The first would be attempting to work out a trade without permission from the club with which the player being discussed is under contract.

The other states that those executives involved in ongoing trade discussions may not publicly divulge contents of the conversations going on between the clubs, which one could argue Douglas did by claiming Rodgers would be coming to the Jets, suggesting the deal is done.  This despite the fact that the deal is clearly not yet wrapped up.

So still….we wait.

Glenn Naughton

Glenn was Born in the Bronx, New York and has followed the Jets religiously despite being stationed in several different countries and time zones around the world. He now resides in England and has been a JetNation member since 2005. Glenn will bleed green with the rest of us through the highs and lows.

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