The Funniest Possible Outcome to the Aaron Rodgers Saga
Josh Frey
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Throughout this offseason, a rival of the Minnesota Vikings has been held hostage. I refer to, of course, the Green Bay Packers and the ongoing Aaron Rodgers saga that they have dealt with for multiple years now.
It officially began when Green Bay selected Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and now, we seem to finally be approaching a resolution nearly three years later with Rodgers’ request to be traded to the New York Jets.
In all likelihood, the trade will be worked out sometime in the coming days or weeks. However, we continue to see strange reports come out regarding the relationship between Rodgers and Green Bay’s front office as well as the idea that the Jets and Packers continue to be hung up on the draft capital required to make the deal happen.
With all the hoops that New York is being forced to jump through to acquire an expensive, volatile, 39-year-old quarterback, what if the Jets take a look in the mirror, jump into a cold pool of self-reflection, and wonder to themselves, “why are we doing this?”
That leads us to the funniest possible outcome for this Rodgers saga. I cannot be convinced that there isn’t a universe where the Jets head into April (preferably making a decision on April 1st) and decide that they no longer want any part of the circus that comes with being the team to employ Aaron Rodgers.
It doesn’t feel as far-fetched as some may think, either. Lamar Jackson is on the market and remains 13 years younger, an overall better player at this point in his career, and I’d be willing to bet that he doesn’t come with the possibility of retiring one year into his tenure.
Additionally, New York could simply decide that they don’t want to go through hell and high water to land an expensive veteran QB. They hold the 13th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, three Day 2 picks, and all of their own first-rounders in future years. It isn’t that crazy for them to swing a trade with one of the teams in the top 10 to move up and draft a guy like Will Levis or Anthony Richardson.
New York is certainly one of the better landing spots for a young QB right now. They have a strong wide receiver corps with second-year player Garrett Wilson joined by free agent signings Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard. Running back Breece Hall also takes pressure off a rookie QB, assuming he returns healthy from his ACL tear last season.
This decision would also put Green Bay in a delicious pickle where they have to decide what in the world they are going to do heading into 2023 and beyond. Do they bench a quarterback with a $31 million cap hit? They certainly can’t cut him considering it would put Green Bay on the hook for a ridiculous $99 million in dead money.
Do they try to find another trade partner for him? Rodgers has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be in Green Bay anymore, but could that change if the Jets get cold feet and the QB begins looking at the other options? He’s changed his mind about the Packers multiple times before, so it wouldn’t exactly be a stunning turn of events.
Then on the flip side, if Rodgers suddenly does another 180 and wants to come back to the Packers, that means Green Bay could officially go through the entire first four years of Jordan Love’s career without seeing an extended stretch of starts. Would they dare offer him a fifth-year option and a second contract, or do they decide to take another shot at drafting a quarterback and start all over again?
In the end, it makes sense why everyone is enamored with the idea of Rodgers going to the Jets. It’s hilarious to see the QB going to down a mirror-image path of his predecessor, Brett Favre.
For New York, though, this feels like history simply repeating itself 15 years after the Jets decided they would “fix” their QB problem by slapping a Band-Aid over it with a declining 39-year-old. Cheers to hoping New York takes the blinders off and realizing Rodgers needs them a lot more than they need Rodgers.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.