NFL Rumors: Packers seriously considering trading away Aaron Rodgers
It has been some ride for Green Bay Packers fans with Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback who fell into their lap during his draft has more than lived up to his billing. He initially backed up Brett Favre for three seasons before taking on the reins of the Titletown franchise as the starting quarterback.
Over that period, he has won them one Super Bowl and won one Super Bowl MVP, and four league MVPs. Two of those awards have come in the last three seasons.
However, this year, there was a marked drop in his output. His touchdown and yardage dropped and his interception numbers increased. Not only was he not in the MVP conversation, the Packers even failed to make it to the playoffs.
The way they missed out was equally agonizing. Needing to defeat the Detroit Lions at home to qualify for the postseason, he came up short and condemned the Packers to a losing season.
This was also not the first time that he has failed in recent memory in crunch games at home. In each of the previous two seasons before this, he was the league MVP.
Despite sparkling in the regular season and locking in home advantage for the Packers for the playoffs, he failed to take them to the Super Bowl again. He lost an NFC Championship game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a Divisional Round game to the San Francisco 49ers, each time getting outplayed on Lambeau Field.
He has had significant injuries this season, with a fractured thumb playing a part in his relative decline. He has also had to contend with rib injuries and other issues. In the interim, during a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jordan Love came in and looked accomplished in leading the offense. Love is now in his third year backing up Aaron Rodgers, the same length of time that Rodgers backed up Favre.
Having missed the postseason and keeping all the factors above in mind, the Green Bay Packers might be deciding to move on from Aaron Rodgers in the coming offseason. Both parties are aware of each other's intentions, though the future Hall-of-Famer has yet to make a decision on whether he will play next season.
#Packers trading QB Aaron Rodgers is a 'very real scenario', according to @AdamSchefter
The two sides are "fully aware a trade is a real possibility,"
Aaron still hasn't decided if he'll play next year, but that would mean Rodgers will leave $60 million on the table if he does https://t.co/1BBIHXSwTF
Will Aaron Rodgers return to play next year if not for the Green Bay Packers?
Aaron Rodgers is 39 and towards the end of his career. He might not choose to return next year if the Packers decide to move on from him. However, based on the contract he signed in the offseason last year, he is due $60 million this year.
We are approaching a crucial moment in Aaron Rodgers’ contract.
@AndrewBrandt breaks it down on the latest Business of Sports Podcast: https://t.co/qaniuTXvsu
It is a significant amount of money and he might choose not to leave it on the table. Despite missing the playoffs this year, he will rightly believe that he is good enough to play for some other team if a trade can be arranged.