Packers GM: Jets' 1st-rounder not 'necessary' for Rodgers deal

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said a first-round pick from the New York Jets isn't "necessary" to facilitate a deal for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to Ryan Woods of USA Today.

Gutekunst added that he wants fair value and said there's no timeline for a potential trade involving Rodgers, who said on March 15 that he intends to play for the Jets.

The AFC East team owns the 13th overall pick in April's draft, as well as two second-round selections.

Rodgers cited Green Bay's attempt to move on from him as the reason he wants to play elsewhere.

Gutekunst said he unsuccessfully tried to reach Rodgers "many times" following the 2022 season to determine if they were on the same page.

"You come out of the season, you have a lot of conversations ... (to) get an idea of where you're gonna move to as a team, how you're gonna go forward," Gutekunst said, according to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.

"I was really looking forward to the conversations with Aaron to see how he'd fit into that. Those never transpired, so there came a time where we had to make some decisions.

"We went through his representatives to talk to him (about) where we're going with our team, and at that point, they informed us that he'd like to be traded to the Jets."

Gutekunst said he wished Rodgers handled the situation differently.

"Whenever a player may have issues, you prefer that they talk to you directly and not do it in the media, but that's not necessarily the way he goes about it, and that's OK," the GM said.

Rodgers spent his entire NFL career with the Packers, who drafted him 24th overall in 2005. He's the franchise's all-time leader with 475 touchdown passes.

Green Bay, which is now expected to move on with Jordan Love under center, went 8-9 in 2022, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

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