I know what you’re thinking…Is this idiot serious? Aaron Rodgers isn’t going anywhere, and even if he is this is an off-season conversation.
Forgive me if my interest is not squarely focused on the current Packers. With young wide receivers who are rumored to be fed up with their quarterback, defensive players who can’t seem to stand their coordinator, and a quarterback who is throwing everyone under the bus except himself, forgive me if I would rather focus on something other than whether or not we’re gonna get beat by Mike McCarthy this weekend.
There are people that will tell you a Rodgers trade doesn’t make sense for any number of different reasons, but given what we’ve seen and given what we know about Rodgers, I can absolutely see either he, the organization, or both deciding it’s time to go a different direction.
So where would he land?
First off you need to keep three things in mind:
1. The Green Bay Packers are a consistent organization. They do things like they’ve always done things. We can look back at history and the Brett Favre trade to understand that there is no way this organization would ever trade Rodgers to an NFC team. The San Francisco 49ers rumors were so comical a few years back. There is no world where this organization would risk the blowback they would receive by trading Rodgers to a rival team and having him come back and show them up. They traded Favre to the AFC and they would do the exact same with Rodgers.
2. His salary is ridiculous. Rogers has the biggest contract in NFL history and despite the likelihood that the salary cap will continue to rise at a dramatic pace, whoever acquires no.12 will have to be able to actually pay no. 12. No matter what soundbite you heard in the off-season, money is a motivating factor for Rodgers and being the highest paid quarterback in the league is important to him. He will not be restructuring.
3. Rogers will have a say. Even though there is no no trade cause in Rodgers contract, make no mistake about it the Hall of Famer would absolutely have a say in where he goes. His moodiness and pettiness fall right in line with someone who would make it very known that he would rather retire then play in a situation that he is not a fan of. A trade for Rodgers would most likely look like the trade for Deshaun Watson. Rodgers goes out and gets the offers and the Packers take one.
So with that in mind who are the contenders?
Most likely: Pittsburgh Steelers
We know how Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers feel about one another. Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the league and the Steelers wouldn’t bat an eye at sticking Kenny Pickett on the bench in favor of a Hall of Famer that could put their roster over the top. They are an extremely healthy organization with an ability to create cap room. Their defense and coaching paired with Rodgers would make for a quick ascent to the top of the league.
Maybe: Tennessee Titans
Tannehill has one year left on his deal and Tennessee could move off him in an effort to begin making the massive space needed. This would still be difficult given their cap situation but last year‘s number one overall seed is looking very competitive again this year even without receiver weapons. Would Rogers want to go from a place without receivers to another place without receivers? Yes, I believe so. Rodgers is a huge fan of Mike Vrable, who is certainly one of the best coaches in the NFL, and has opined his abilities on the Pat McAfee Show. Pair that with a good roster, an unbelievable running back, and a general manager that’s actually willing to draft offensive players and this is definitely a possibility.
Maybe: Indianapolis Colts
You would think this one makes a ton of sense. Indianapolis has been a quarterback away since Andrew Luck left. One could argue the weapons on offense are outstanding, the defense is capable, and a guy like Rodgers would make them an immediate top of the league contender. The issue here is the Jim Irsay factor. Would Rogers trust his last few years to someone who makes such rash decisions? He just fired his head coach and hired an ESPN analyst? This might be the best football situation for Rodgers, but from an organizational health standpoint I can’t see it being a great fit.
The Darkhorse: New England Patriots
Yes it sounds crazy, but Belichick and Rodgers have a huge affection for one another and both of them have something to prove. Deep down I believe Rodgers believes that if he had what Tom Brady had he could’ve easily achieved the same success. Here’s his chance. Bill Belichick could do the same. Give him another good quarterback and all of a sudden he has a chance to tie or surpass Tom Brady‘s Super Bowl total. This would be crazy but it makes a ton of sense. One of the greatest defensive minds of all time and one of the smartest, least turnover prone quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Although the least likely, this is the most fun and best match available.
At this point I’m not sure that Aaron Rodgers will get traded, but as opposed to before the season began I now truly believe it to be a possibility. If the conversations start expect these four teams to be in the mix.
