Aaron Rodgers Saga

By: Lucas Kochevar

       It's been a couple of weeks since the bombshell Adam Schefter dropped on Draft day. The dust has settled between the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. I think both sides are digging their heels in and not budging. The Packers have no true incentive in trading Rodgers and it wouldn't be in their best interest from a football perspective. Rodgers, if he held out, would forfeit ridiculous amounts of money and he isn't a spring chicken, so he would waste his own time. Sadly for Rodgers, the Packers hold all the cards here. Rodgers is a stubborn guy so I wouldn't put it past him but, if he looks around there are not many options that provide a smooth transition. 

        First off, if you look at the Packers, they lost the best center in the league to the Chargers and haven't added any weapons opposite of Davante Adams. They still have one of the best tackles in football, decent weapons, and a very solid defense with one of the leagues best cornerbacks. They were a couple of bad decisions away from the Super Bowl. They made plenty of plays to win that game, but crucial mistakes led to them losing. CB Kevin King forgetting how to cover anyone, an idiotic defensive call at the end of the half, and an ill-advised field goal doomed them. Besides that, they are capable of making that same run. This seems like Rodgers' best option, quite easily. Just come to a compromise and lead this team to the Super Bowl. A big deal has been made about Rodgers not liking GM Brian Gutekunst. The issue is that Rodgers doesn't own the Packers and no QB has ever made the decisions. He should be talked to about certain preferences, but it isn't the GMs job to kneel to the QB. Both sides should come together, have a lengthy convo, and bury the hatchet. 

          His other options are not better than that. The Denver Broncos would be the most likely candidate. They have a much better defensive mind running the show in HC Vic Fangio, so it would be a lot of what Rodgers wants to run on offense if he goes there. They have a solid core on offense with WRs Jerry Jeudy, Cortland Sutton, and Tim Patrick. The defense is underrated with Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons, and Kyle Fuller. Don't get me wrong, the Broncos are solid. The issue I have is Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid twice a year along with Justin Herbert twice a year. The division is levels above a weak NFC North right now. The Raiders are just a worse version of the Broncos. I don't see the Raiders competing for anything and with Rodgers they would be fighting for a wild card spot. A dark horse team would be the Panthers. At this point it seems like they are locked into the Sam Darnold plan, but remember, they were hungry for a QB before Darnold. They were heavily invested into the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. 

          Something that stands out is one report that states the Niners, before the draft, offered up the third pick and some change for Rodgers. There have been connections between Rodgers and the Niners for years since that was originally where Rodgers wanted to go during his draft in 2005. With growing up on the West Coast, it makes sense that he would want to go to San Fran. This definitely seems like a move that his agent might've pushed for with the Niners. Obviously, the Packers did not accept and have held firm on keeping the reigning MVP. In the end, the best move is for both sides to come together and ride out the remaining years of Rodgers. A move that makes sense to mend the bridge between the two would be a massive extension to give him more money and lock him into Green Bay until his retirement.