Carmen Vitali

NFC North Reporter

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

The New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers should have a deal by now, right? They have been talking about an Aaron Rodgers trade for weeks. The quarterback has signed off on a scenario that sends him to New York.

What’s the holdup?

It’s never easy to trade a quarterback — especially not an elite one with a Super Bowl win on his résumé. But after 18 years, the Packers seem to have moved on, with Green Bay CEO Mark Murphy saying the team would trade Rodgers “unless things don’t work out the way we want them.” Still, it’s never simple moving a player you no longer want when that player is as valuable as Rodgers.

So let’s dive into some of the specifics that are holding up this deal.

Trade compensation

What to know about the Packers’ side of the deal 

In a world in which Russell Wilson commanded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick along with multiple players and Matt Ryan was traded for a third-round pick, the compensation for 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers lies somewhere in the middle. 

Packers CEO gives update on Rodgers

Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes discuss Packers CEO Mark Murphy’s latest comments on Aaron Rodgers’ potential move to the Jets.

Reportedly, the Packers aren’t seeking multiple firsts for the four-time league MVP. And how could they? Rodgers likely won’t be in New York for very long. The Packers understand that — but it’s not their problem, either. Rodgers is still an elite quarterback, just a year removed from one of those aforementioned MVPs. We wouldn’t be doing this circus if he weren’t elite. Even in a “down year” last season — in which he played with a broken thumb for most of it — Rodgers threw for 3.695 yards and 26 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. 

You want to know the stats for Jets quarterbacks last year? Among seven players who threw a pass for New York, the season totals were 4,040 yards, 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The free-agent quarterback market has dried up. The top QBs in this year’s draft class will undoubtedly be gone by pick No. 13, and given New York’s recent track record in the draft, trading up isn’t a real option either. The Jets are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Rodgers is by far their best option and Green Bay knows that. Not to mention, the Jets have already secured one of Rodgers’ best friends in new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and his best Packers target recently in Allen Lazard. 

New York has to get this deal done at this point. Jets general manager Joe Douglas’ job likely depends on it.

That means Green Bay is justified in wanting one first-round pick. Throw in one or two Day 2 picks and that should suffice. If not a first-round pick, perhaps one of the Jets’ rookies of the year? Both Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner are as close to sure things as you can get — but it’s understandable that the Jets would be hesitant to trade a young player who will likely be good for the next decade for a guy they could feasibly not have for more than a year.

Yes, it’s in the Packers’ best interest to trade Rodgers, too. But it’s not dire. The Packers are cap compliant as it currently stands. They can carry the contract they gave Rodgers last offseason. The worst-case scenario, which is admittedly hard to stomach, is that they pay Rodgers $60 million to ride the bench. But again, they can carry his contract. Plus, there’s nothing stopping them from restructuring his salary, either. Their only significant loss this offseason was Lazard, so they maintain status quo for the most part.

And sure, that scenario is not ideal coming off a season in which they didn’t make the playoffs for the first time under head coach Matt LaFleur. There will have to be logistics worked out. They make take a step back this coming season. But it’s not dire. 

And it just might be for the Jets.

What to know about the Jets’ side of the deal 

New York doesn’t want to meet Green Bay’s demands. And that’s because the Packers can look out at the rest of the league and plainly see there’s no other suitor. 

Eventually, Green Bay will need to trade Rodgers. Everyone knows he’s going to New York. And while, yes, the quarterback options are fading from the market, they are all signing with teams that were once quarterback-needy. The Jets are already the only option for Rodgers. But once we get through the draft, it will only solidify New York’s point that it is the only suitor for the Packers QB. 

So in other situations, the Jets would have to give up more for Rodgers. A first-round pick would be a bargain. But the Jets are reading the room. They’re seeing — they’re at least imagining — that they can conjure some leverage out of this situation.

Is Aaron Rodgers not worth a first-round pick after all?

Many teams not in the sweepstakes reportedly believe that Aaron Rodgers is not worth a first-rounder. Colin Cowherd breaks down the QB’s true worth.

In this particular situation, it’s hard to imagine the Jets giving up more than a pair of second-round picks and a player. But as mentioned above, the Packers might view that as a low-ball offer for an elite QB. And so the Packers are going to hold out until they get something better from New York.

Contract/Salary Cap

What to know about the Jets’ side of the deal 

The Jets can create enough space to fit Rodgers’ contract, which includes $59.5 million in salary in 2023. It will be a substantial undertaking, given they currently have just $10.8 million in cap space. And while that large number is cumbersome for the Jets, it’s worth it to them. 

It also provides a point of leverage for New York. Because if Rodgers wants to play, the Packers don’t want to carry that number on their salary cap for the 2023 season. They want to move him and his money off their cap to begin planning for their future. So that’s what might create some urgency from Green Bay’s side to get a trade done.

What to know about the Packers’ side of the deal

The Packers have no incentive to move quickly on this.

Rodgers’ dead cap hit goes down significantly if he’s traded after June 1. Specifically, it goes down from around $40 million to $15 million in 2023 with a carry-over of $24 million in 2024. But it saves Green Bay $15 million this year. That leaves the Packers with more room to maneuver in the immediate future in the absence of extra capital the trade could yield this year.

Also, Green Bay doesn’t need a quarterback. The Packers have Jordan Love champing at the bit to get on the field, and they believe in him, too. So, while an extra first-round pick this year would be nice, it’s not as if they need it to acquire a quarterback. They can afford to cash in on capital in 2024, when they’ll still have a sizable dead cap hit from Rodgers to balance out. Younger talent means cheaper talent, after all.

Packers take big losses in offseason

Craig Carton takes a look at the offseason moves around the league and ranks which teams have been winning and losing based on their moves.

The Packers can also afford to wait until after June 1 given that no decisions need to be made on Rodgers until training camp, when his option comes due. Meanwhile, the Jets have every incentive to get Rodgers in as soon as possible to get him comfortable with his new team. He may be familiar with Hackett’s offense, but other than Lazard, Rodgers is not familiar with the Jets’ personnel.

Plus, if Rodgers is designated as a post-June-1 trade and Green Bay does indeed save that $15 million off its cap, the Packers could be inclined to use that money to offset some of Rodgers’ contract anyway and make the deal sweeter for the Jets — in return for more capital or players, of course.

This is a complex trade, no doubt. But would you expect anything less in a deal involving Aaron Rodgers?

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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The Tennessee Titans have officially lost another member of their offense after tight end Austin Hooper agreed to terms on a one-year $2.75 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Hooper’s deal can reach as high as $3.5 million with performance and/or playing time incentives.

This divorce was largely expected following Chig Okonkwo’s dominant first season that saw him lead all rookie tight ends in yards and touchdowns (tied).

Hooper may not have resorted back to his Pro Bowl days as many Titans fans had hoped for, but his impact during clutch situations will undoubtedly be missed.

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Hooper cashed in on his 2019 breakout in Atlanta, signing a four-year, $42 million contract last offseason with the Browns. He played the same number of games and only 40 fewer snaps his first season in Cleveland, but the switch from a pass-first offense to a run-first offense left him with 187 fewer routes and 27 fewer targets. Hooper was actually targeted on a higher percentage of his routes in 2020 than in 2019, but he fell from 8.1 YPT to 6.2, despite dropping only two passes and having nearly the same average depth of target (6.5, 6.4) both seasons. While it’s fair to expect an efficiency rebound of some degree in Hooper’s second season working with QB Baker Mayfield and coach Kevin Stefanski, the problem of target volume is still a big one, especially if TEs Harrison Bryant and David Njoku both remain on the roster and WR Odell Beckham returns healthy from ACL surgery.

Hooper’s 2019 explosion in Atlanta set the stage for a record-setting contract from the Browns, establishing a top of the market for tight ends with a $10.5 million average annual value and $18.5 million guaranteed. While Hooper, who runs a 4.72 40, is no athletic match for the likes of George Kittle and Travis Kelce, he should be a useful target on short and intermediate passes for Baker Mayfield. The No. 1 overall pick is hoping to rebound from a sophomore slump, surrounded by a new coaching staff in an offense loaded with name-brand weapons. The 25-year-old Hooper will make the team better, but we can’t ignore how his 2019 production largely occurred when the Falcons were in catch-up mode, often against defenses focused on mitigating Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Hooper produced 62 percent of his yardage and five of his six TDs after halftime, and he averaged 79.6 yards and 9.9 YPT in seven losses, compared to 38.3 yards and 5.6 YPT in six wins (he also missed three games with an MCL sprain). Even amidst a breakout season, only two of Hooper’s 75 receptions came on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. In Cleveland, the presence of Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and fellow tight end David Njoku will make it difficult for opponents to focus on Hooper, potentially helping his efficiency but also leaving him as a long shot to match last year’s 7.5 targets per game. The question now is whether Hooper can do more with less.

Improvement isn’t always linear with fantasy commodities, but Hooper had steady improvement in Season 3, bumping his catch rate, receptions and touchdowns to career highs while tying for seventh in TE targets. The key to getting the plausible upside of Hooper is grasping when the Falcons use him. He was tied for third in inside-the-10 targets at the position, and only Travis Kelce had more looks inside the 5-yard line. Hooper also had a pair of two-point conversions (one in the playoffs); while they’re only a deuce on the scoreboard, they could point to more touchdown upside in subsequent seasons. The Falcons certainly have a gaggle of imposing downfield weapons in their passing game, but perhaps Hooper will remain a primary option when space gets tight around the goal line. Add it all up and Hooper makes sense for fantasy owners who want to be budget-conscious at tight end without going completely into a punt formation.

Hooper had some things moving in the right direction last year – more games, more starts, more snaps and more targets. His YPC dropped almost four yards, despite a glorious 88-yard catch-and-run touchdown against the Bears in Week 1. Hooper only scored twice the rest of the season and didn’t have another reception longer than 24 yards or a game with more than 50 yards. After finishing with nine straight outings (including playoffs) catching three or fewer passes for no more than 38 yards, Hooper’s case for a Year 3 breakout took a hit when the Falcons drafted WR Calvin Ridley in Round 1. The Falcons also didn’t consider Hooper much in the playoffs, giving him just six targets in two games (4-18-0). That sounds like someone who should be forced to play his way onto our rosters in September, not someone we should proactively draft in August.

The Falcons brought Hooper along at a gradual pace during his rookie year as he only had three games with more than three targets. But there were occasional highlights — an 84-yard spike at Oakland, a snappy touchdown at Tampa Bay on national television and a score in the Super Bowl. With Jacob Tamme not expected back, Hooper likely will enter Week 1 as the starter, or at least as the top pass catcher at TE. Stanford has produced a number of NFL starting tight ends in recent years, with Hooper another one to feel good about. He checks the pedigree box — a third-round pick in 2016 — and he doesn’t turn 23 until late October. Atlanta’s offense is built around matchups and spreading the ball around, but Hooper has plenty of room for growth in his second season. He belongs on everyone’s potential-breakout list.

Hooper was selected by the Falcons in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and the team hopes he can help bolster a position that’s been a point of weakness since Tony Gonzalez retired. He comes into a clustered-yet-unimpressive situation alongside Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo, who combined for just 66 receptions, 701 yards and one touchdown in 2015. The Falcons clearly have plans for Hooper if they were willing to take a chance on him in the third round, but it seems like they’ll roll with Tamme at the beginning of the season. Toilolo is more of a blocking tight end, so Hooper could see some work in clear passing situations should they opt for some double-tight end sets.

The Atlanta Falcons activated Eddie Goldman from the reserve/retirement list Tuesday, nearly eight months after the veteran defensive tackle signed with the team and then retired weeks later.

Goldman could join a remade defensive lineman rotation featuring Grady Jarrett, Ta’Quon Graham, free agent signing David Onyemata and Timmy Horne, an undrafted free agent from 2022 who started five games as a rookie.

Goldman signed a one-year contract with Atlanta last July as part of a litany of former Bears players to join the Falcons, who had hired former Bears general manager Ryan Pace as a senior personnel executive in 2022. He then retired on July 19, just 13 days after signing with Atlanta and before he participated in a single practice with the club.

Goldman was thought to be a potential starter for the Falcons last season before he walked away. It is unclear why Goldman decided to retire abruptly last offseason.

Goldman, 29, was a second-round pick by the Bears in 2015 and played 81 games for Chicago, including 73 starts. He recorded 175 tackles and 13 sacks.

• The 2023 quarterback class is fairly strong: There is a quarterback worthy of the first overall pick and several other quarterbacks who possess top-10 and even top-five talent.

• Not much promise at linebacker: This year’s class might be completely devoid of first-round talent —  Iowa’s Jack Campbell and Arkansas’ Drew Sanders are currently the only linebackers projected to be fringe first-round picks.

• All eyes on edge defender: We currently have 14 edge rushers in the top 64 of our big board. Over the previous eight drafts, the record for most edge defenders taken in the first two rounds is 12.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Earlier in the offseason, PFF looked into the talent at each position group in the 2023 NFL Draft, highlighting the strong edge and tight end classes and the weak wide receiver and linebacker classes.

The weeks since have brought the NFL scouting combine, pro days and our subsequent big board update, so it’s time for us to take a second look at each position group.

For this iteration, we are partnering with Benjamin Robinson‘s GrindingTheMocks.com to use consensus mock draft data to learn more about this year’s prospects. This data not only helps us investigate the talent at each position but also fuels the computer-simulated picks for PFF’s mock draft simulator.

Overview of positional strength

We measure the strength of each position in a given draft class by the draft capital allocated to the position. To quantify draft capital, we use the PFF WAR draft chart. You can find a more detailed explanation in last year’s version of this article.

We then compare the draft capital allocated to each position over the last eight drafts to the capital projected to be allocated to each position in 2023.

The allocation may change come draft time, but it’s currently the natural way to measure each position’s strength in a way comparable to the actual drafts from past years.

Here is an overview of the offensive positions.

The last three drafts have been record-breaking in terms of the number of highly drafted wide receivers, and most of those pass-catchers haven’t disappointed in the NFL.

This year might be different, as we are currently looking at a class with only five or six top-50 prospects, in stark contrast to a 2022 class that produced six wide receivers who were drafted within the first 18 picks.

Another position group that looks much bleaker than last year is interior offensive line. The 2022 draft featured three consensus blue-chip first-round talents in Tyler Linderbaum, Kenyon Green and Zion Johnson. This year, O’Cyrus Torrence is currently the only borderline first-round talent.

We proceed with the overview of the defensive positions:

Edge rushers stand out on this chart, which is unsurprising, given that our big board currently features 13 edge rushers in the top 50 and seven in the top 32.

On the other end of the spectrum, linebacker shapes up to be a fairly weak position in this year’s draft, as it might be completely devoid of first-round talent —  Iowa’s Jack Campbell and Arkansas’ Drew Sanders are currently the only linebackers who are projected to be fringe first-round picks.

A deeper look can help teams make the right draft decisions

The overview is definitely nice to have, but when a team has the 25th overall pick, they need to have a concrete idea of whether a certain position is strong because there is a lot of top-15 talent and a deep Day 2 or whether the position is strong because of several late first-round prospects who would most likely be available when the team is on the clock.

For that reason, we have created charts that show the available talent at each position at each point in the draft. The charts compare that talent to the ceiling, floor and average of the last eight drafts.

We start with the most important position — quarterback.

The chart consists of three lines and two series of points.

The blue (the middle line) describes how many quarterbacks have been taken on average with the first X selections in the last eight drafts. The green (top line) line describes the maximum number of quarterbacks taken with the first X selections in the last eight drafts, and the orange (bottom line) line describes the minimum number.

For example, the maximum number of quarterbacks taken with the first 15 picks is five, which occurred two years ago with Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones all coming off the board early.

The minimum number of quarterbacks taken in the first two rounds (first 64 picks) is two, as only Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota came off the board early in 2015.

On average, there have been between three and four quarterback selections in the first round.

Basically, the three lines give us a mean expectation and a range for how many players at a given position are taken through X selections. The points show us the number of players at the position through rank X of the 2023 big board.

Click here for more PFF draft tools:

Mock Draft Simulator | 2023 NFL Draft Big Board | 2023 NFL Draft Guide

In the above chart, the yellow points describe the board ranks of the quarterbacks on the PFF big board, and the purple line describes the board ranks of quarterbacks on the GrindingTheMocks consensus big board.

Loosely speaking, we can spot a weak class by looking at points below the average line, and we can spot a strong class by points above the average line.

This means we have a fairly strong quarterback class this year, with a quarterback worthy of the first overall pick and several other quarterbacks with top-10 and even top-five talent. However, we can also see that there is very little Day 2 talent, so finding the next Jalen Hurts could prove to be difficult.

Proposals to limit the distance golf balls travel when struck by elite players have received the surprise backing of four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

Several players, including world No. 2 Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas, have criticized the model local rule (MLR) proposal outlined last week by golf’s rules makers the R&A and USGA.

However, McIlroy, one of the longest hitters in the world, said he supports the move.

“For elite-level play, I really like it. I really do,” Northern Ireland’s world No. 3 told the “No Laying Up” podcast this week.

“I’m glad in this new proposal that they haven’t touched the recreational golfer. I know that’s a really unpopular opinion amongst my peers, but I think it’s going to help identify who the best players are a bit easier.

“Especially in this era of parity that we’ve been living in these past couple of decades.”

Average driving distances are around 300 meters on the PGA Tour, but many players are well in excess of that, meaning some courses are in danger of becoming obsolete.

Club technology has long come under the microscope, but now the R&A and USGA are turning their attention to balls.

The MLR proposal, which could come into force by 2026, would give competition organizers the option to require players to use only balls tested under modified launch conditions.

To meet maximum-distance criteria, golf balls will have to not exceed the current overall distance standard limit of 320 yards when struck by a clubhead with a speed of 127 mph under laboratory conditions.

“I’m glad in this new proposal that they haven’t touched the recreational golfer. I know that’s a really unpopular opinion amongst my peers, but I think it’s going to help identify who the best players are a bit easier.”

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy has voiced his disapproval in the past at measures to curb distance, branding the R&A and USGA’s “Distance Insights Project,” aimed at curbing driving distances, as a waste of time and money in 2021.

But he now says the game needs to be protected from technological advances.

“Innovation is a part of every sport, it’s a part of every industry,” he said. “But whenever that innovation outgrows the footprint of the game, that’s when I think we have a problem.”

The R&A says that over the past 20 years, average hitting distance has increased by 1 yard per year.

It says the proposed MLR testing setup would potentially reduce the distance by 14 to 15 yards on average for the longest hitters with the highest clubhead speeds.

McIlroy currently leads the PGA driving distance charts with an average 326 yards but said he would be willing to consider adopting the MLR rule even if the PGA Tour did not.

“If the major championships somehow adopt this ball change and the PGA Tour doesn’t, I think it widens that gap between PGA Tour golf and major championship golf,” McIlroy said.

“For me, the major championships are the biggest deal, so if the PGA Tour doesn’t implement it, I might still play the model local rule ball because I know that that’ll give me the best chance and the best preparation leading into the majors.”