It became official last night, although it had been a foregone conclusion for a few weeks: Aaron Rodgers is the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Tip of the cap to No. 12.
At first, it stung a bit. Odd, perhaps, but it instantly brought the mind back to the last game Rodgers played for this year — the NFC Championship loss. Certainly, Rodgers would rather be playing today, but this is a great second option.
It’s his first MVP since 2014, and it came in his age-37 season.
Entering the year, many cashed in the idea that Rodgers was starting a downhill slide. While he wasn’t the Rodgers we had become accustomed to seeing the last few seasons, he sure shut up anyone who doubted him this year.
Soak in some of these numbers, folks.
What is the encore next season going to look like? Will the Green Bay Packers surround Rodgers with more weapons? Will Aaron Jones be back? All of that matters, but No. 12 has shown the ability to thrive regardless of surrounding circumstances. He’s one of the greatest ever to do it, and there appears to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
The bombshell of the night came in his acceptance speech when he mentioned that he was engaged. In today’s world, where everyone’s business is a click away, for him to keep that under wraps might be as impressive as watching him sling the pigskin (I kid, of course). This especially is the case for athletes and celebrities. Everything gets aired out; everything gets picked up and posted. How was this not found out and plastered all over Twitter already?
Savvy move to find a way to keep the engagement hush-hush until he and the Mrs. (unsure of who, but there’s a name floating around) wanted to announce it.
It was an incredible year for Rodgers and the Packers. They earned the only bye in the NFC, the offense was ranked first in the NFL in a ton of major categories, and they came up just one win short of playing in the Super Bowl.
Contrary to popular belief, Packers fans don’t take going from Brett Favre to Rodgers for granted. There’s a realization that there’s a shelf life on every player’s time in the league, even the greats, but Rodgers may have extended his with his play this year. Today, I plan on watching highlights on a loop from this season while eating a tub of ice cream instead of the pregame festivities for that other game going on.
Remember the Rodgers trade rumors even a week ago (lmao)? He’s not going anywhere cheesehead nation. Turn the page and look ahead.
**Let’s see NFC North quarterback situations for $500, Alex**
- The Minnesota Vikings will desperately try to send Kirk Cousins elsewhere despite what they say. He’ll likely be back, and they will not be a serious contender with Captain Kirk’s contract chewing up so much of their cap space.
- The Chicago Bears might trade for Carson Wentz, a last gasp effort for Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy to save their jobs. They don’t care about giving up future picks and assets; they will go all-in for this upcoming season, knowing their jobs are on the line. A sad sight to see.
- The Detroit Lions have already traded Matthew Stafford for picks and Jared Goff. GROSS. That’s a downgrade, but let’s see what the picks manifest into. Either way, it’s a new era in Detroit, and Stafford will flourish with the Los Angeles Rams.
Green Bay will bring back a three-time league MVP, one-time Super Bowl winner, who’s coming off arguably his best season ever. He’s become the guy that as long as he’s healthy and under center, you always, and I mean ALWAYS, have a puncher’s chance at minimum. The Jordan Love noise from the outsiders won’t stop. They will try to instigate, but Rodgers will be under center Week 1, which helps Packers fans sleep comfortably at night.
What situation would you want?
“What is the Green Bay Packers?”
Correct.