The Green Bay Packers can do whatever they want to keep Aaron Rodgers, but it won’t matter. The time to appease the superstar quarterback was years ago, and they fumbled the ball spectacularly.
While Cheeseheads want nothing more than to see Rodgers stay in the Frozen Tundra for the rest of his career, the reality is setting in that it is no longer likely. Yet, this situation could not be happening for a better time for the Packers.
After General Manager Brian Gutekunst decided to shift the team’s direction and plan for the future by selecting Jordan Love, a quarterback from Utah State, with the 26th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the team seemed poised to move on from Rodgers at the conclusion of the 2021 season after the remaining guaranteed money ran out on his contract. By trading him post-June 1, 2022, the Packers would save $25.5 million in cap space, per Over the Cap.
Now that Rodgers has expedited the process, saying that he wants out from Green Bay before the 2021 season, the Packers may be forced to put their plan into action a year early – and it may just be a blessing in disguise.
People in the Packers organization have been praising the second-year quarterback and his development. Just this past week, Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and star running back Aaron Jones both lauded Love’s improved confidence and noted how comfortable he looked in OTAs. Though Gutekunst mentioned last month that Love still has “a long way to go,” he acknowledged how hard it is to gauge the newcomer after he did not suit up on gameday once his rookie season or get any preseason time due to COVID-19.
The Packers ideally wanted to give the incumbent one more shot at a Super Bowl, but if Rodgers digs in his feet, the Packers should not fret, nor should the fans.
Coming off an MVP season, the price tag for Rodgers will be as high as possible. Rodgers lit up the NFL with a career-high 48 passing touchdowns and his highest completion percentage since he took over for Brett Favre in 2008, all while showing no signs of slowing down.
One more year, regardless of how he plays, will diminish his trade value, as he will be one step closer to retirement – Rodgers is already 37 and will be 38 by the end of the season. A team that is a quarterback shy of a deep playoff run like the Broncos or the Saints should be calling Gutekunst five times a day asking if the Packers are ready to move on.
The returns from a trade this offseason could include multiple first-round picks and even other foundational players. If the Lions received two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and Jared Goff – a former first overall pick back in 2016 – for Matthew Stafford, one can only imagine the haul the Packers will get for Rodgers.
From here on out, everything hinges on Gutekunst’s decision to select Jordan Love in 2020. However, if he was right and Love is the franchise’s next great quarterback, it is not hard to think of the juggernaut the Packers may become. With the players, picks and cap savings gained from trading away Rodgers, a franchise quarterback on a rookie contract and a potential salary cap increase of over $25 million in 2022, the Packers are positioning to add big pieces to make a run at a Super Bowl with a complete team, rather than one strictly relying on an all-time great to get them over the hump.
It is hard for a fanbase to say goodbye to their star. It is even harder when that star is still producing at a high level. But out of every fanbase, Cheeseheads should know best how important it is to plan for the future. After all, it worked out pretty well for them when the Packers selected Aaron Rodgers three years prior to Brett Favre’s exit.
Favre was traded to the Jets for a conditional pick that became a third-rounder. That pick, packaged with another third-round pick and a second-round pick, was traded to the Patriots in 2009 for the 26th pick which the Packers used to select another fan favorite, Clay Matthews. This time around, if the Packers pick wisely, they can end up with a whole lot more.
Just like they reacted in 2008, it may be hard for the Packer faithful to accept Love. He may receive boos, he may even have teammates doubt him. But if Gutekunst was right – and that is a massive if – the Packers will do the unthinkable and have a seamless transition to a third straight franchise quarterback, one who may also go on to have a long, spectacular career in the green and gold. Gutekunst has a chance to be hailed as a genius and acquire a king’s ransom ushering in the next generation, one where he and coach Matt LaFleur have full control.
Then again, if Gutekunst was wrong and Love is not the answer, he will be run out of Wisconsin and be synonymous with one of the worst decisions in NFL history. It is as simple as that.
Regardless of whether Rodgers holds firm or decides to come back, seeing Love in action during training camp and watching him compete in the preseason will be the first indication of whether or not Gutekunst knows what he is doing.
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