Because trade offers are sure to come in over the coming weeks and months, even if Gutekunst has been adamant he will accept none of them, we put the beat writers of three teams that are potential trade destinations for Rodgers to the test. Broncos writer Nick Kosmider, Washington writer Ben Standig and Raiders writer Tashan Reed each offered Packers writer Matt Schneidman a deal for Rodgers, with Schneidman playing the role of the Green Bay GM.
Beat writer Matt Barrows declined to make an offer for the 49ers, among the teams Rodgers is reportedly interested in joining via trade, after San Francisco selected Trey Lance with the No. 3 pick in last week’s NFL Draft. Barrows said the 49ers’ plans “would be to make an inquiry, monitor the situation and be in the background of conversation in case a just-can’t-pass-on-it opportunity rose up. But the Packers seemed to make it clear they don’t want Rodgers going there.”
Denver Broncos
The Broncos have written the script on riding into the orange-hued sunset. John Elway, forever the bridesmaid through the first 14 years of his Hall of Fame career, catapulted into retirement with back-to-back Super Bowl wins — the first coming against the heavily favored Packers, of course — to close his career. Peyton Manning, whom the Broncos landed in 2012 after perhaps the most important free-agent chase in NFL history, put an exclamation point on his storied career by helping Denver win its third championship in 2015. So if we are making this pitch from a storyteller’s perspective, what better place is there for Rodgers to chase glory in his final years as a professional football player?
The Packers, of course, won’t give a damn about the story if they do decide to trade Rodgers. They will only care about getting the best return possible. Denver needs a quarterback upgrade. The Broncos are set to enter training camp with a competition for the starting job between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater. Neither quarterback played inspiring football in 2020, when Lock led the league with 15 interceptions while completing only 57.3 percent of his passes and Bridgewater threw only 15 touchdown passes in 15 starts. The Broncos are young and talented. With a major upgrade at quarterback, they are a playoff team and one that could entertain championship notions.
Here’s what the Broncos are offering in this exercise:
WR Jerry Jeudy
TE Noah Fant
2022 first-round pick
2023 first- and third-round picks
These would all be tough assets for the Broncos to part with. The picks, even though they would likely be toward the back end of each round, are still valuable for a team trying to add high-upside depth at multiple spots. Jeudy (2020) and Fant (2019) were chosen in the first round and have flashes of big-play potential. The Broncos would still have Courtland Sutton, K.J. Hamler, Tim Patrick and rookie Seth Williams among their receivers, and Albert Okwuegbunam offers the Broncos many of the same skills Fant does. That should be enough for Rodgers to work with.
With Green Bay preparing to turn the ball over to Jordan Love, it makes sense to give him young players he can grow alongside. Importantly, the Packers would be getting two players on their rookie deals, key for a team being squeezed by the salary cap.
And, if Lock is your flavor, we can add him to the deal too. So, do we have a deal?
— Nick Kosmider
Las Vegas Raiders
Derek Carr was one of the better quarterbacks in the league in 2020: He ranked 12th in completion percentage, 11th in passing yards, eighth in yards per attempt and 11th in passer rating. Still, he’s not Rodgers and will be going into the final year of his contract in 2022. Unless the Raiders believe Carr, 30, can get them over the hump in the short term or continue to play at a high level long term, then it makes sense to move on. Rodgers, 37, is older and comes with a shorter window, but would be an immediate upgrade and give Las Vegas a chance to compete in the AFC.
Rodgers proved he can still play at an MVP level in 2020 and, for what it’s worth, Tom Brady just won a Super Bowl at 43, so there’s no guarantee the wheels will fall off anytime soon. Rodgers wouldn’t have a Davante Adams-caliber receiver to throw to, but he’d have tight end Darren Waller, two of the better backs in the league in Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake, three young receivers with upside in Hunter Renfrow, Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards, a reliable veteran wideout in John Brown and one of the best offensive minds in the league in coach Jon Gruden. The offensive line is in flux after the departures of Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown, but Rodgers has the mobility and pocket awareness to make it work.
Trade offer:
QB Derek Carr
ILB Nick Kwiatkoski
2022 first-round pick
2023 first-round pick
Trading Carr is an easy call considering the upgrade to Rodgers. The Packers need help at inside linebacker, so I threw in Kwiatkoski — who has experience in the NFC North from his four years with the Bears — to sweeten the deal. Nicholas Morrow can slide into his role pretty easily while Divine Deablo, Javin White and Tanner Muse provide depth. Giving up two first-round picks is never easy, but the Raiders haven’t gotten a ton out of their recent first-rounders, anyway. Rodgers is a proven commodity and well worth it.
— Tashan Reed
Washington Football Team
Washington sought to solidify its quarterback play this offseason, and after failing to acquire Matthew Stafford, it signed free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one-year, $10 million contract. While coach Ron Rivera claims there’s a quarterback competition to be had with Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke, Fitzpatrick is the overwhelming Week 1 favorite. The quintessential journeyman has played some of his best football in recent seasons, ranking fifth in ESPN’s QBR rating last season over nine appearances — seven starts — with the Dolphins.
However, despite entering the league in 2005, “FitzMagic” has never played in the postseason. While he should provide a boost to an offense that ranked 30th in yards per game last season, the 38-year-old isn’t likely to raise his game up significantly beyond his current level. Allen and Heinicke, who shockingly delivered Washington’s single-best quarterback performance last season in the playoff loss to Tampa Bay, have shown an ability to play in the league, but neither seems to have significant upside.
That’s not the case for Washington’s defense. Led by a deep and talented line headlined by pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Washington ranked second in yards allowed and fourth in points per game. Though those stats overhyped the defense some, expectations are rising after the additions of free-agent cornerback William Jackson and linebacker Jamin Davis, the No. 19 selection in the NFL Draft.
On the other side of the ball, the signing of wide receiver Curtis Samuel puts another speed threat next to Terry McLaurin and running back Antonio Gibson. The team is arguably poised to contend assuming improvement from key younger players — and the quarterback position. Adding Rodgers without creating holes elsewhere puts Washington squarely into the NFC title talk.
The offer:
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
DT Daron Payne,
WR Antonio Gandy-Golden
2022 first-round pick
2023 first- and second-round picks
Moving Payne isn’t ideal, but Washington has significant depth inside and going with the 2018 first-round selection over other tackles on the roster is the tax to pay for Green Bay trading Rodgers within the conference. Payne ranked in the top seven among defensive linemen in tackles and assists last season, per Pro Football Focus. Injuries hampered Gandy-Golden last season as a rookie, but the fourth-round selection known for making tough catches brings intriguing red-zone capabilities. Washington added four receivers this offseason.
— Ben Standig
The decision
After close consideration of three intriguing offers presented by the Broncos, Raiders and Washington, the Packers have decided to stick true to their word and not accept any of the three proposals for Rodgers. We here at 1265 Lombardi Ave. will make Rodgers either play for us in hopes of winning the organization a Super Bowl with him at quarterback or put almost $30 million-plus in fines incurred for missing mandatory offseason activities at stake.
Even if he hates me (well, the real general manager), we’re going to try to make him suck it up and play for the head coach, teammates and fans he loves because he gives us a better chance of winning a Super Bowl than almost any other quarterback. If he’s still determined not to play, he can pay us his $11.5 million signing bonus in each of the next two years and we’ll fight to get back the $6.8 million roster bonus he was paid last month. Sure, it might sting a little if he does that and we don’t get any players or picks in return, but we can add a significant player or a couple of others with the money Rodgers pays us to a roster already stacked with talent.
Ultimately, though, this is about standing our ground and not giving in to the wishes of a quarterback who we feel should want to stay with a team with whom he can contend for a championship.
The Broncos submitted the most intriguing proposal because not only did they offer two first-round picks, they included two young, promising pass catchers and a quarterback in Lock that we were interested in before the 2019 draft. Washington was close because it offered significant defensive line help and a veteran quarterback who can start and win games if Love isn’t ready. The Raiders? Meh. Carr played with Adams in college, but that offer didn’t move the needle for us.
I thank you all for your time, and we look forward to continuing with Rodgers as our quarterback or ushering in a new era of Packers football with Love.
— Matt Schneidman
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