The Green Bay Packers made a notable move on Friday when they traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. The move was a bit of a surprise, not only because Wicks had been traded, but he also earned a one-year, $12.5 million contract extension that will keep Wicks in Philadelphia through the 2027 season.
The trade and the contract sent a ripple effect in a quiet prelude to this month’s NFL draft, and it apparently reached Minnesota Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr. Upon seeing the news, Rodgers took to his X account to comment, simply stating “I should have been a wide receiver fr.”
Rodgers’s comments are likely rooted in humor, but it shows just how surprising the Wicks trade was and how impactful it could be when the Vikings and Packers match up next season.
Isaiah Rodgers’ Reaction to Packers Move May Reveal Bigger Issue
Wicks flashed potential during his time in Green Bay, but he never put it together to become a consistent factor in Matt LaFleur’s offense. The presence of Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Romeo Doubs had Wicks buried on the depth chart, but he also held himself back with an 11.1 percent career drop rate, including a league-high 18.0 percent rate in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.
As a result, Wicks has just 108 catches for 1,328 yards and 11 touchdowns during his career. But he also had positive underlying metrics, including a career average of 1.60 yards per route run. That average would have ranked 40th among 91 qualifying receivers last season and would have been higher than former teammate Matthew Golden (1.53 YPRR) and might have hinted at why the Eagles would have given up 2026 fifth-round and 2027 sixth-round picks to get him.
But the area where Rodgers may have sour grapes is the contract extension. Wicks’s 2027 salary would rank 31st in average annual value among receivers heading into this year, according to Over The Cap, and teams have paid big for wide receivers this offseason, including Alec Pierce’s four-year, $114 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts and Doubs’s four-year, $68 million contract with the New England Patriots.
While receivers are cashing in big, Rodgers may be playing for a new contract next season as he heads into the final year of a two-year, $11 million contract signed last offseason. One of the few 2025 free agent signings that survived this offseason for Minnesota, Rodgers may not get it despite a depleted cornerback depth chart, and has seen other teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, trade Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams instead of giving him a four-year, $124 million contract.
More locally, the Packers may be headed toward their own younger and cheaper backfield. Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are each entering the final year of their contracts, and the Packers have made it clear that they are interested in adding a corner by hosting multiple pre-draft visits with corners in recent weeks.
Outside of money, Rodgers may not be joking around for long. The decision to trade Wicks gives the Packers more draft capital in the coming years, and it also opens up playing time for Golden, who is the main beneficiary of this deal. The fact that the Packers should be healthier with Tucker Kraft returning from a torn ACL should help their offense and give the Vikings another thing to be salty about as the Packers look to enhance their advantage over the Vikings in 2026.