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Every offseason brings new storylines to a league that never runs short of them. A tale as old as time. Team or player struggles, goals aren’t met, and the fan base demands to blow it up. Here we are again as the 2022 NFL season comes to completion and the rumors are running rampant. One in particular has caught my eye. No, it’s not Tom Brady returning for one last run as a New England Patriot. If that happens, we’ll watch the movie and read the book, but it’s been done. It’s not even the potential return of Sean Payton to the sidelines that has my brain stimulated. This offseason, I’ve been obsessed with the potential trade of Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is currently on a four-year, $200 million extension, signed this past March, that should have left the quarterback a Green Bay Packer for life. The events that have transpired once the ink dried has left that in doubt.
-March 2022: Rodgers and the Packers sign a four year, $200 million extension.
-March 2022: Packers trade wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders
-August 2022: Rodgers blasts young Packers wide receivers for drops, and mistakes
-October 2022: Rodgers questions if play calling should be scaled back to simplify things.
-November 2022: Packers drop to 4-7 on the season after a Thursday Night Football loss.
-January 2023: Packers lose “win and in” Week 18 match up, at home, against the Detroit Lions
Once the clock hit 00:00 on the Packers season, Rodgers and his longtime teammate, Randall Cobb, walked off the field at Lambeau together. With Rodgers feeling sentimental after the game, questions began to emerge. Are the Packers committed to going “all in” in 2023? That’s likely the only way Rodgers returns, and it’ll take roster and contract restructuring to make that happen. Backup quarterback Jordan Love showed promise in his limited time on the field, so the writing is on the wall.
The groundwork is laid for an amicable divorce between Rodgers and the Packers. When asked about a potential trade on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’, Rodgers said, “I hope there’s some gratitude on both sides if that happens.” Rodgers has seen a messy breakup in person when it was himself stepping up as the starting quarterback for the traded Brett Favre in 2008. The tension between the two sides is thick enough now that it’s got me thinking it’s a full send.
Per @AdamSchefter, the #Packers won’t trade Aaron Rodgers within the NFC. If he is traded, it will be to an AFC team. Raiders, Jets … the ball is in your court.
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) January 24, 2023
Where will Rodgers end up? Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it will not be a team within the NFC, so where does that leave him? What AFC quarterback needy team would be a fit for a former MVP wanting to go “all in”? The answer is simply, Vegas, Baby.
After a Week 16 benching, the Las Vegas Raiders made the decision to move on from longtime quarterback Derek Carr. The Raiders had a disappointing 6-11 season, but did see Josh Jacobs emerge as a force at running back, earning First-Team All-Pro. With an opening at quarterback, a playmaker at running back, and Rodgers’ former teammate, Adams, at wide receiver, Las Vegas feels like the perfect fit for a former MVP looking to win and nothing to lose. Not to mention next year’s Super Bowl is being hosted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Look for the Raiders to go “all in” and make Rodgers their target for this offseason.
