Aaron Rodgers is 37 years old, and a 16 year veteran at this point of his career. Despite not being a starter until his 4th season, he has completed in 197 games 4285 of 6287 passes or 65% for 51,245 yards 7.8 yards per attempt, 412 tds to just 89 ints, as well as 652 carries, 3,271 yards, 31 tds. He has written his resume for the Hall of fame using Green and Yellow ink up to this point but in 2020 the Packers spent a first round pick on Jordan Love from Utah State with the 26th overall pick after a trade up from 30.
Love is 22 years old a full 15 years younger than Rodgers, while he is regarded as a project player due to his smaller school background, he was handed a fully guaranteed contract the first time a qb has received this since the rookie wage scale changed. Obviously this proves that Love is in the long term plans for the Packers and Rodgers isn't..granted they have already set the premise that they would rather wait to replace a qb until a year too late rather than a year too early, however I believe they would be wrong to wait.
Consider this perspective: Rodgers is at his highest possible value currently and is only a depreciating asset from here whether he stays or goes his value diminishes each year. However he is coming off of an MVP award and his second straight NFC Championship game losing to Tom Brady who is 6 years older than him and only proving that Rodgers is worth multiple first round picks even still now at 37 years old. To a team like San Francisco that believes they are the right qb away from winning it all the price isn't too high to pay especially if it buys you 3-5 more years to develop a quarterback for the future and keeps your championship window open.
But why pull the plug earlier rather than later if you still believe Love needs time to develop? That's quite simple, you can surround Love with more top flight weapons by obtaining multiple high draft picks in exchange for his services. You also shed salary and create cap space, allowing for a free agent haul to buoy your team or you simply bottom out for a year until Love learns the hard way. Either way you already have your next qb on a rookie contract, you gain premium draft capitol, and you set your coach and organization up for the future with young cheap but high end talent something that will be extra crucial in 2021 after reports that the cap could be as low as $175 million.
As if the Packers needed any reassurance their counterparts the Lions shipped their qb Matthew Stafford to the Rams in exchange for a 2021 3rd round pick, and first round picks in 2022, and 2023 AND Jared Goff. With that being said I don't think anyone is making the arguement that Stafford is more valuable than Rodgers right now, and I could easily see a team look at Rodgers and realize he is the answer to take them to a Super Bowl. The list of teams that could improve with Rodgers, even at 37 years old, isn't a short one. I could see Denver, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, or Jacksonville making an offer the Detroit/ L.A. trade might serve as a blueprint for some of these other teams. For instance:
Denver could easily package Drew Lock, and their next 3 first round picks for the chance to bring in Rodgers. The Packers pick up 3 first round picks that would allow them to build an immense amount of talent around Love, and bring in Lock who could in theory serve as a fallback option if Love doesn't pan out. This would actually make a lot of sense for both franchises. Denver is in a situation where their coach's seat is getting hotter by the loss. They have a new GM that was a part of a franchise that may not have traded for their QB but a different kind of bold move in signing Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed deal. He likely wouldn't shy away from the chance to bring in Rodgers on a team that features a ton of offensive weapons already, as well as a very talented pass rush.
Jacksonville is in a unique position where they hold the number 1 pick with a qb on the board that everyone believes to be the safest prospect since Andrew Luck. However no one can tell the future of Trevor Lawerence, for every time an analyst called a prospect a can't miss there are those that failed to live up to lofty expectations. Perhaps the Jaguars take a look back at their history of drafting first round quarterbacks with Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles, and Byron Leftwich on their resume and get spooked on the potential of another unknown and decide to simply swing a trade for Rodgers. They could offer the #1 overall pick, one of their 2 second round picks, and one of their 2 4th round picks. They could leave the trade still possessing a pick in every round of this year and next year's draft, get their qb and still be able to build around him for a year or two. The Packers get the top pick, and the chance to select Trevor Lawerence a much more polished prospect than Jordan Love. They would also gain a 2nd and 4th round pick allowing them to immediately build a strong roster all in one offseason with younger and cheaper players giving them a longer window to build around Lawerence or Love whoever proves to be the better prospect.
San Francisco could offer the Packers another bridge QB in Jimmy Garrappolo as well as offer them their first round pick in 2021, 2022 and 3rd round picks in 2022, and 2023. This would allow the Packers flexibility in when they decided to start Love and prevent having to throw him right into the fire. They also gain as second first round pick over the next two drafts and 3rd round picks in 22, and 23 which will prove vital in adding important depth the next few years. Meanwhile the 49ers don't completely mortgage their future as they still have their complete drafts over the next two years outside of their first round picks. This gives them the ideal qb to run Shanahan's system, and flexibility to develop a backup behind him or eventually hand the reigns to Mullens after he learns behind Rodgers.
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