Rodgers to the AFC? Five Possible Landing Spots
With reports suggesting the Packers are open to trading the four-time league MVP, we look at potential landing spots for the 39-year-old quarterback.
It’s that time of year again. Just four teams remain in the hunt for the Superbowl, head coach interviews are up and running and the annual chatter about Aaron Rodgers’ future has begun. This is the third straight offseason where Rodgers’ future has been speculated on, but this year could turn out to be more than just speculation. Aaron Rodgers has himself said he does not want to be part of a rebuild and reports over the last few days suggest that the Packers are indeed open to trading the Californian signal caller. It makes a lot of sense for them to do so this year. They are coming off a disappointing season where they failed to make the playoffs and they have a first-round quarterback entering the final year of his rookie contract. If the Packers are to move on from Rodgers, then quite possibly the time is now. The Packers are reportedly only open to trading him to the AFC and any possible trade would not be cheap for potential suitors with two first round picks expected to be asked for. So, which teams could be in for Aaron Rodgers? We’re going to look at five of the frontrunners.
New York Jets
The Jets desperately need an experienced quarterback. They’ve picked two rookie quarterbacks in the top three of the draft over the last five years, one of which who has already been shipped off to Carolina and the other who has quite possibly started his last ever game as a New York Jet. This year, the Jets finished 7-10 and missed out on the playoffs, but this was with a misfiring Zach Wilson at quarterback. The Jets roster is overflowing with young talent and Aaron Rodgers himself spoke on Tuesday’s Pat McAfee Show about how much he admired the Jets’ offensive weapons. In Garrett Wilson they have an offensive rookie of the year candidate and when pairing him up with 2021 second round pick Elijah Moore, they have a talented receiving corps for Rodgers to throw to. In Breece Hall they have another rookie who surely would have been an offensive rookie of the year candidate baring his season-ending injury and on the other side of the ball, they have the defensive rookie of the year favourite in Sauce Gardner and outstanding young DT Quinnen Williams. The Jets would have no qualms about parting with first round picks for a proven quarterback such as Rodgers as there is a feeling in New York that an experienced QB is all they need to really challenge next year. With Rodgers’ former Green Bay OC Nathaniel Hackett currently interviewing for the vacant Jets OC position, could the stars be aligning for Rodgers to make the move to New York? Fifteen years ago, the Green Bay Packers traded their star veteran quarterback to the New York Jets when Brett Favre made the move. It definitely could happen again this year.
Las Vegas Raiders
When Aaron Rodgers signed his new contract with Green Bay last year, he did so with the expectation that he would have another season throwing to Davante Adams. When Davante Adams moved to Las Vegas, he did so with the expectation he would spend the next few years catching balls thrown by his good friend and former Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr. Then in week 17, Carr was benched by new head coach Josh McDaniels and Carr himself has since said he will be moving on. So, is an Adams-Rodgers reunion on the cards? Playing with Adams again would clearly be appealing for Rodgers. He has publicly said that a major reason for the Packers’ struggles this season was the loss of the wideout and that he took for granted the things he was able to do with him in the team. The Raiders also have other appealing weapons on offense with Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow, as well as Josh Jacobs, if they can get him to resign. The Raiders organisation are certainly looking for a big-name experienced quarterback to take them to the next level. They felt that the arrival of Davante Adams would be enough to push them into being Superbowl contenders but their 6-11 season disappointed and so the quarterback position is their main focus this offseason. One thing that could prevent a Rodgers move to Las Vegas though is the fact the Raiders are strongly linked with a different veteran quarterback. Instead of an Adams-Rodgers reunion in Las Vegas, we could be having a Brady-McDaniels reunion.
New England Patriots
Talking about Brady and McDaniels, could the New England Patriots be a possible landing spot for Aaron Rodgers? New England is another team with possible question marks over the quarterback position. Two years ago, rookie QB Mac Jones took the Patriots into the playoffs, but this past season has been one of regression for the former Alabama QB. Could the Patriots be tempted to hire a veteran QB for the immediate future while possibly giving Jones more time to develop? The Patriots are a much less appealing prospect in terms of offensive weapons than other teams, but they do have one very large selling point – Bill Belichick. After the Patriots defeat to the Packers in October, Belichick said of Rodgers, “I’d say in the end, Rodgers is just too good. He made some throws that only Rodgers can make. We had pretty good coverage on some of those, and he’s just too smart, too good, too accurate, and in the end, he got us.” The admiration between the two men is mutual with Rodgers previously saying of Belichick, “The way that he coaches and the success he’s had, he’s a phenomenal leader and always has his guys ready to play”. The prospect of one of the game’s greatest coaches teaming up with one of the game’s greatest players could be a very exciting one indeed.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are another team that could be willing to move on from their quarterback. Ryan Tannehill is 34 years old and while he has been a dependable quarterback for the Titans since joining from Miami, he hasn’t shown that he has it in him to be a Superbowl winning QB. Last season the Titans won the number one seed in the AFC but fell at their first hurdle in the playoffs to the Cincinnati Bengals with Tannehill throwing three interceptions. This season they missed out on the postseason altogether, finishing with a 7-10 record. Add in the fact that Tannehill is entering the final year of his contract and his cap hit will be $36.6 million this upcoming season, it’s easy to see why Tennessee would be interested in moving on. The current state of their offense counts against their chances though. They have one of the weakest receiving corps in the league and while they have Derrick Henry, he is about to turn 29 and has had an extremely high workload the past few seasons so injuries are always a concern. Mike Vrabel is another coach that Rodgers has a lot of respect for though and with a new OC incoming, the offence could be built to suit him. Plus, Rodgers does already own property in Nashville.
Indianapolis Colts
Just as it wouldn’t be the offseason without discussions about Aaron Rodgers’ future, it wouldn’t be the offseason without the Colts trading for a veteran quarterback. The last three years the Colts have signed Phillip Rivers in free agency and have traded for Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan. None of these moves have worked out for them though and without a doubt, the Colts will be looking to sign a new starting QB for the 2023 season. They have the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft which would be very appealing to the Packers although equally they could choose to use this on a rookie QB. There would be question marks too over how appealing a move to Indianapolis would be to Rodgers. They have some talent on offense in Michael Pitman Jr and Jonathan Taylor but coming off a 4-12-1 season and with no head coach currently in place, they do not look to be in a position to challenge for the Superbowl. A main reason that Rodgers is considering leaving Green Bay is that he doesn’t want to part of a rebuild job and the Colts seem a bigger rebuilding job than the Packers at this current time.
Green Bay Packers
Of course, a very possible outcome could be that Aaron Rodgers lines up at the start of the 2023 season in a Green Bay Packers jersey. The best chance for him to get back into the playoffs could be to stay with the team he has spent his career with and the one where he knows the systems inside out. He has worked with Matt LaFleur for the past four years now and that has led to two of his league MVP awards. He was quoted as saying that the absence of Davante Adams was a big reason for the team’s 2022 struggles but the emergence of Christian Watson in the second half of the season could give reason for optimism that 2023 could be more successful. Or maybe Rodgers will decide he’s had enough and that it’s time to finally hang up his cleats and walk away from football. Whatever he decides to do, it’s clear that the future of Aaron Rodgers will yet again be a big talking point this offseason.