Aaron Rodgers Achilles injury, Packers won't get Jets' top pick
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is helped off the field during a game against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, Wis. - New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ torn left Achilles tendon is costing his former team a chance at an extra first-round pick in next year’s draft.
That's because the four-time MVP’s inability to play will cost the Green Bay Packers a first-round draft pick.
Part of the package the Jets used to acquire Rodgers included compensation in the 2024 draft. Under the terms of the deal, the Packers would get a 2024 first-round pick only if Rodgers played 65% of the Jets’ snaps during the 2023 season.
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Now that Rodgers’ season is likely over, the Packers will get a second-round pick instead.
Rodgers had taken just his fourth regular-season snap for the Jets when he was brought down by Buffalo’s Leonard Floyd during New York’s 22-16 overtime victory over the Bills. An MRI on Tuesday confirmed Rodgers has a torn Achilles tendon, a person told The Associated Press while speaking on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced it.
In the trade that brought Rodgers and a 2023 fifth-round draft pick to the Jets, the Packers acquired a second-round pick (No. 42 overall) and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft as well as the conditional selection in 2024. The Packers and Jets also swapped 2023 first-round picks, with Green Bay selecting 13th overall and the Jets picking 15th.
Green Bay used the No. 13 pick on Iowa outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness, the second-round pick on Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave and the sixth-round selection on Auburn kicker Anders Carlson.
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The Jets took Iowa State edge rusher Will McDonald at No. 15 overall and used the fifth-round pick they got in the Rodgers trade to acquire a sixth-round pick and seventh-round selection from Las Vegas. The Jets then took LSU cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse with the sixth-round pick and Old Dominion tight end Zack Kuntz with the seventh-round pick.
This trade already has paid some early dividends for the Packers.
Van Ness had a sack, Musgrave caught three passes for 50 yards and Carlson kicked a 52-yard field goal in a season-opening 38-20 victory at Chicago. The Rodgers trade also created an opportunity for 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love, who threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns without an interception Sunday in his second career start.