NFL Draft day was overshadowed by the news that Aaron Rodgers wanted out of Green Bay. The Packers quarterback is reportedly frustrated with the front office and general manager and listed teams such as the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers as potential landing spots.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given what happened in last year’s draft when the Packers took a quarterback to replace Rodgers eventually. It is said that Rodgers at the very least wanted a new contract extension with the team, but when one was offered this offseason, he turned it down.
After the draft, it was reported by NBC Sports that a transaction that occurred last season is one of the reasons that he is so upset.
“In fact, there have been multiple reports this week that Rodgers remains upset that the Packers cut Kumerow, and that the roster move is one of the main reasons Rodgers is so bitter toward General Manager Brian Gutekunst that he no longer wants to play for the Packers.”
Rodgers is a quarterback coming off an MVP season and his best one in years. While he does have some leverage, there isn’t a lot he can do if the Packers keep their position that he will be their quarterback. I guess Rodgers could sit out or retire, but the Packers will have no choice but to give the reins to Jordan Love happily. There is another rumor from Ian Rapoport that was floated out there last week, but this seems absurd as well.
“One more note on #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: He really impressed the brass during his stint on Jeopardy. The belief is, when they finish auditions, he’ll be among those with a chance to do the job full-time. If this isn’t sorted out, a job hosting is also a possibility.”
I personally don’t think we are at a place yet where Rodgers is going to walk away from the game of football and the millions that it makes him host Jeopardy full-time, even if the gig was ever offered to him. Terry Bradshaw has been especially critical of the Packers quarterback.
“Here’s what I’d do,” Bradshaw said. “I wouldn’t budge. Let him gripe. Let him cry. Retire. You’re 38. Go ahead and retire. See you later. I mean, I’m really strong about stuff like that, and it just makes him look weak. In my way of looking at it, it makes him look weak. How dare you draft somebody? I play better than they thought I would. Me being the MVP really screwed them, really messed them up.”
This was a long-winded way of getting to my point, which is, why don’t two teams with upset quarterbacks make a switch that could make them happy. The Seattle Seahawks could trade Russell Wilson to the Packers in exchange for Aaron Rodgers.
Call it a straight-up trade and give each player a fresh start. Of course, both these players would have to waive no-trade clauses, and that would probably never happen. But this seems like a deal that would make both sides happy from a football perspective.
Here is why it works for Wilson. He feels that he is being held back by Pete Carroll and wants an offense to let him have his own style and move around how he wants. That is what Matt LaFleur could provide Wilson, and there are enough weapons in Davante Adams and Aaron Jones to make Wilson happy.
Rodgers can get a fresh start with a coach in Carroll, and he will have guys like DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to throw to while Chris Carson is still in the backfield. The Hawks do have some of the same fundamental issues that Green Bay has had in terms of adding offensive line and some offensive weapons, but Rodgers is a fit.
While there are very few quarterbacks in the NFL who you could ever want over Wilson, Rodgers may be the guy. Pete Carroll isn’t going to be the head coach in Seattle for another 10 years, and if he is looking to win one more time before he hangs it up, maybe Rodgers is the guy.
He is coming off a season in which he threw for 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns while throwing just 5 interceptions. That is one of the biggest differences between Rodgers and Wilson, who threw 13 interceptions last year and had a tough time holding onto the ball. Rodgers passer rating was a full 20 points higher than Wilson’s in the season. It is even hard to be critical of Rodgers in the playoffs. He torched the Bucs, but the defense was really the one who let him down. Rodgers threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while turning the ball over just once with an interception.
Carroll recently downplayed the Wilson drama, stating that it has been overblown.
“It’s a media problem. It wasn’t a problem for us because we knew the truth, and we were in conversation to talk about stuff,” Carroll said. “Because it’s in the media, there are things we need to address with other players and talk through stuff. That’s just a normal course. That’s nothing to be blamed on the media. You guys speculated the way you could with it. I have no grudges with it at all.”
I don’t really buy into him saying that, especially because it is coming from him and not the guy who brought attention to the situation from the get-go. Carroll has been complimentary of Rodgers in the past, especially when he had season-ending surgery back in 2017.
“Instantly the impact you become aware of and that’s going to change a lot of stuff,” Carroll said during his weekly Friday appearance with Dori Monson on KIRO Radio 973. FM. “They may just be fine and overcome it and are right back on track and all that. But when he’s a player of that magnitude that dictates so much of everything–it’s a shock.”
Sure, it may be unrealistic, and it will probably never be discussed. But a Rodgers-Wilson trade makes sense for both sides, and maybe if Green Bay was a destination on the Ciara list, this could have a greater chance of gaining some traction.
