The Green Bay Packers-Aaron Rodgers dilemma is becoming the type of mess that’s so multi-layered it requires you to set aside a chunk of each day just to try and get caught up on the latest status update. Trying to explain every report, rumor, or implication to someone who isn’t dialed into the story would be damn near impossible.
You’d need a Venn diagram or a sizable whiteboard even to have a fighter’s chance.
What could fix all of this? Or are we past the point of no return? What if the Packers traded for Julio Jones or Odell Beckham Jr.? Would that be enough to sweep the drama under the rug and bring No. 12 back for another year in Green Bay? It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Any deal to bring Jones to Green Bay would require the Packers to jump through many hoops to navigate their cap situation. They were unable to do much in free agency due to their lack of financial flexibility, so adding Jones would mean many other pieces would have to be shifted around. But if this fiasco with Rodgers and Green Bay is as tumultuous as some are making it out to be, wouldn’t the Packers go the extra mile to add a piece like Julio to smooth things over?
Jones is entering his age-32 season but is still producing at an incredible rate. The biggest question with Jones is his availability. But even in his later seasons, he’s tended to play through whatever injuries he’s dealing with.
Can you imagine a one-two punch of Davante Adams and Julio Jones? And did anyone mention the Packers drafted Amari Rodgers to torch secondaries out of the slot? If there were ever to be a move that signaled Green Bay isn’t messing around and is pushing all the chips to the middle of the table, it would be trading for Julio Jones. How does No. 12 say no to that? Hell, Green Bay would probably encourage Rodgers to keep up the Jerry Krause texts if that makes him happy.
The move could tie the Packers up down the road, but who’s talking about the future right now? This is Defcon One, all hands on deck, “Operation Keep Aaron Rodgers In Green Bay.” There is no looking down the road right now. You load up the ship and you hold the league MVP hostage to the idea that he is playing for the Packers next year — and that he is going to like it. The sweetener, of course, being Julio Jones.
Was that embellished? A bit exaggerated? Not. Even. A. Little. Bit. Defcon One, folks. All hands on deck. Throw everything else to the side for the time being.
If the Julio Jones option isn’t your cup of tea, can I interest you in some Odell Beckham Jr.?
OBJ has seemingly been rumored in trades since his second or third year with the New York Giants. When he was finally dealt to the Cleveland Browns in 2019, there were trade rumors about where his next stop would be before he even touched down in Ohio.
Beckham is coming off a brutal torn ACL that sidelined him from Week 8 through the remainder of last season. He has dealt with his grocery list-sized number of injuries as well. But when he’s on the field and healthy, OBJ is still one of the most dynamic wideouts in the NFL.
Like Jones, he would immediately upgrade the Packers to one of the most lethal wide receiver groups in the NFL. You’re talking about pairing OBJ with Davante Adams, who has a case to be the best wideout in the league — on top of third-round pick Amari Rodgers and the gazelle-like speed of Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Aaron Rodgers can scream his displeasure with Green Bay’s front office from the mountaintops, but he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity with that unit.
Money is a factor again in any trade for OBJ, and Green Bay would have to do some rearranging. Maybe to really put the cherry on top, Gutekunst and Mark Murphy open up their personal checkbooks and chip in. Wow! Can you imagine how far that kind gesture would go? I kid, of course, but we are talking about how to coddle and pamper No. 12 into returning to Green Bay. Bringing either star wideout into the fold would certainly make Rodgers cuddle up to the idea that a compromise can be made.
Is it too much to ask for a Rodgers-Gutekunst prearranged photo where they shake hands and smile into the camera after Green Bay executes a trade for either Julio Jones or Odell Beckham Jr.? You know those photos you see at car dealerships when the salesperson just fleeced the buyer, but they both look stoked as the car salesperson drops the keys into the buyer’s hand? That’s the kind of photo we’re talking about here.
We’re just spitballing ideas, but it would really go a long way to ease the minds of many Packers fans. Would either Rodgers of Gutekunst enjoy the picture — or even being in one another’s presence? Probably not at this point, but it’s all about the illusion of the photo!
If Green Bay wants to roll out the red carpet and praise the ground that Aaron Rodgers walks on, go all in and execute a trade for Julio Jones or Odell Beckham Jr.
