Once the New York Jets determined Aaron Rodgers was their No. 1 choice to play quarterback this season, they never considered walking away from trade talks with the Green Bay Packers. This, despite some difficult moments during negotiations, Jets general manager Joe Douglas told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Thursday.

“There were several points, I would say tenuous points, over the course from the [NFL Draft] Combine to now,” Douglas said. “I can say never a point where we felt like we were just gonna turn our back and walk away. … Ultimately, we made the decision to pursue our number one choice and follow it through, see it through.”

Douglas said the conversations he had with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst were largely positive.

A major sticking point was that Green Bay didn’t want the condition on the Jets’ second-round pick in 2024 be tied to their success, either a certain number of wins or reaching the playoffs or Super Bowl.

“At the end of the day, Green Bay was very steadfast in that they wanted to make this about play-time only,” Douglas explained. “And so I felt like, once we got into the weeds on what the play-time percentage could be, we got to a point where we felt comfortable pulling the trigger on the deal.”

Of course, that took time. But the trade finally went down mere days before the 2023 NFL Draft.

The teams agreed that the second-round pick next year would become a first-round selection if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of New York’s offensive snaps this season. The Jets also agreed to swap first-round picks this season, trading back from No. 13 overall to No. 15.

“Our focus was always just, ‘Let’s get this player in the building,’” Douglas said.

The Jets are happy with their end of the deal.

Rodgers has already started to transform the franchise, making them a legitimate Super Bowl contender and a team that will be featured in several primetime games this season, including when the Jets host the Monday Night Football opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11.

According to teammate Billy Turner, Rodgers is “so [freaking] happy” to be with the Jets. It’s a sentiment shared by Jets coach Robert Saleh and the players. And makes Douglas’ work to pull off this trade already worthwhile.