Jets have Aaron Rodgers influence in Packers trade: Joe Banner

Joe Banner doesn’t understand the debate over whether the Packers or the Jets have more weight in Aaron Rodgers’ trade talks.

“To me, the Jets can wait without any risk or consequence,” said Banner, who helped make the Eagles a powerhouse as team president from 1995-2012. , for some reason the Jets aren’t interested, and then they don’t have anyone [to trade with]which really ruins their team for two, probably three years.

“Believing the Jets will do something that will reflect impatience is not leverage. It’s just hoping they’re stupid. Leverage puts the Packers in a position where they could lose the only team interested, which creates a complete disaster for them.

The standoff over Rodgers could take a while, but Banner said the Jets can wait.

The team’s offseason schedule won’t begin until April 17, and since Rodgers knows Green Bay’s Nathaniel Hackett offense, he wouldn’t even need to be there for OTAs.

While it’s clear the Jets don’t have good alternatives at quarterback, Banner thinks the Packers are in a tougher spot because there’s no way they can get Rodgers back now.

The Packers have made it clear they’re ready to hand things over to Jordan Love, and Rodgers’ $60 million salary and accompanying salary cap fee could wipe out the team.

That’s why Banner said he wouldn’t offer a first-round pick.

He said he wouldn’t even give up a second-round pick, but suspects the Jets will eventually.

“If I’m the Jets, I get it for as little as possible, and I’m absolutely not putting anyone at risk no matter what,” Banner said. “Why put one on the table when all you gain is to have it a little sooner perhaps?” The Packers have to give in at some point.

Banner said the Jets could scare the Packers off by bringing in another top quarterback for a visit.

“If I was the Jets, I would invite Lamar Jackson for a visit even if I wasn’t interested,” Banner said. “So the Packers say, ‘Holy [bleep], they have an alternative and not us. We better close the deal. ”

The Jets are in a strong position as no other team has shown any real interest in trading for Rodgers.

“The Jets want to do the deal for very good reasons,” Banner said. “The Packers absolutely need to get a deal done, and they only have one potential partner as we sit here, and it’s hard to imagine a second being created. The Jets need to be strong enough to trust that knowledge.

Rodgers put pressure on the Packers to make a deal with his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week and his statement that he intends to play for the Jets.

Banner said Rodgers could take things even further.

“If Rodgers walked into the Green Bay front office and said, ‘If you don’t trade me to the Jets right now for a reasonable price, I’m not cooperating with any other trade, now the only choice the Packers have is to find a way to get the deal done with the Jets or bring Rodgers back, which they can’t do,” Banner said.

Banner thinks how the Jets handle this will be a test of where they stand as an organization.

“That’s the real sign of whether the Jets have changed under [Joe] Douglas and have become smart and have the ability to do what really smart teams in the league do,” Banner said. “Or are they going to be the way they have been for a while and not make the smartest decision and not have a lot of success on the pitch? For me, this is a time when we will see.