Who Will Aaron Rodgers Play For In 2023 (Or Will He Play)?

[bobblehead]

I say again, it ain't gonna happen. He won't retire, and he won't be traded, period.

Only the sithe speak in absolutes (or idiots when the outcome can't be known for sure).

You might be right, but your lack of acknowledgement that you might be wrong is telling.

In the past I have always said he was returning. This is the first year I am saying he is going. I haven't been 100% positive either time.

[bobblehead]

If Love is the QB people will be reminded of what it's like to have a QB who can make plays with his legs when the pass play isn't there. Rodgers turned out to be more athletic than people expected, and I think the same will be true of Love.

What I have loved about Love (hehe) is that he does the one thing the great ones do. He buys time with his legs looking to pass. The "good" ones just take off and run....or can't even buy time. The great ones are ALWAYS looking to throw it.

Rivers and Ryan lost the ability to buy time pretty fast. The good ones like Cunningham and Lamaar take off and run when flushed. The great ones like Rodgers and Maholmes run when all opportunity to pass is gone.

[texaspackerbacker]

Only the sithe speak in absolutes (or idiots when the outcome can't be known for sure).

You might be right, but your lack of acknowledgement that you might be wrong is telling.

In the past I have always said he was returning. This is the first year I am saying he is going. I haven't been 100% positive either time.

I guess you got me there hahahaha. That's pretty much what I said about the other side a couple days ago. I should have said IMO. Call it a prediction, though, and feel free to rub my nose in it if it doesn't come true.

Don't do the same for my other thing - that Rodgers' successor is still in high school now.

[bobblehead]

I guess you got me there hahahaha. That's pretty much what I said about the other side a couple days ago. I should have said IMO. Call it a prediction, though, and feel free to rub my nose in it if it doesn't come true.

Don't do the same for my other thing - that Rodgers' successor is still in high school now.

Thats fair...but if Love isn't the successor, he might not even be born yet. Call me a pessimist.

[run pMc]

The latest stupid meme around here seems to be that Rodgers' legs are no good anymore hahahaha. I thought he kinda disspelled that crap last year.

Ah yes, because those 34 rushes for 94 yards (2.8 ypr) over 17 games really showed off his wheels. Move over Justin Fields!

His legs were not great; he even admitted that himself in pressers.

As for Rich Eisen, he's a Jets fan, so he's inclined to latch onto a Rodgers rumor. Thing is, there have been a LOT of them.

I don't think Gute or any Packers official is going to say anything other than they want him back at this point. Anything else would be a disaster in terms of relationship with Rodgers or trade value. Also, nothing they say in these pressers is going to be truthful or insightful, unless you are a mind reader or somehow pickup on something buried deep within the lines. Personally, I think Gute wants to trade Rodgers, but Murphy wants to keep him. MLF is a tougher read; I think he likes winning and Rodgers is a talented QB but he'd probably like to run his offense and Love might be the best chance for him to do that. If he's a Shanahan type, and Shanahan can spin gold from Brock Purdy, MLF should be able to do ok with Jordan Love.

There won't be any news until after the combine, and any trade likely happens just before the draft.

I will say again, Rodgers might be the better QB in 2023, but trading him is the best thing for the team if you look over the next 3 seasons because of his age and cap hit.
How likely is Rodgers to redo his contract in a way that doesn't hurt the team? How could that can be done?

[texaspackerbacker]

I didn't say he was Lamar Jackson or even Fields hahahaha, but he runs better than Brady did 15 or 20 years ago and better than all but a handful of current NFL QBs. And more pertinently, he runs probably 90 or 95% as good as he ever ran. Besides that, QB yards gain isn't nearly as important as escapability, which Rodgers still has at a fairly high level. And all of that is not nearly as important as throwing accuracy, which admittedly he was less good with the injury last season, but which Rodgers otherwise is extreme top tier. And all of that including accuracy is less important IMO than the mindset not to throw interceptions - where Rodgers is second to nobody in NFL history.

IF Rodgers was one more and done, and IF you could get a veritable shitload for him, and IF you don't mind lapsing into mediocrity after this season, yeah, then maybe trading him might be best. However, I very much doubt any of those 3 IFs is true.

[run pMc]

Brady was NEVER a mobile QB. Brady has always been a pocket passer with a quick release and even quicker processer of the field.

Rodgers mobility isn't near what it used to be. That's Father Time.
He still has good enough pocket awareness to slide around and avoid the rush. That's as much a mental or near-instinctive thing.
The big thing with his legs was with his throwing base and fundamentals. He didn't have that last year. He can get most of that back with appropriate offseason focus on it, he's done that before but he's let it slip lately. With him aging he needs it more than ever.
Let's be real - he's a 40 year old QB who probably runs a 4.9 or 5.0 40. He's not a great athlete by NFL standards anymore. That's why you don't see him running the ball a lot, and as he's not a great threat to run the RPOs they run on offense are less effective.

[texaspackerbacker]

Duh. That's a large part of the point. Rodgers is and always has been a pocket passer too, and he's not/never was a Lamar Jackson level athlete/runner. He has a quick release like Brady, and probably is an even better "processor on the field" than Brady.

His mobility isn't what it used to be, of course, but "isn't near" is an exaggeration. He has aged well in that area IMO. Of course, you nailed it with this line: "He still has good enough pocket awareness to slide around and avoid the rush. That's as much a mental or near-instinctive thing." Rodgers has always been an "off-platform" thrower too, maybe not quite as much as Favre was, but close. He was less successful that way last season why? because of the injury, of course. You don't see him running a lot, true. That's how QBs get hurt, old guys, young guys, all guys - major injury like Dak or just a debilitating calf strain or hamstring like Rodgers himself got a few years ago. But when necessary (or when he just wanted to prove he still could), Rodgers took off and got the yards even last season.

[bobblehead]

Ah yes, because those 34 rushes for 94 yards (2.8 ypr) over 17 games really showed off his wheels. Move over Justin Fields!

His legs were not great; he even admitted that himself in pressers.

As for Rich Eisen, he's a Jets fan, so he's inclined to latch onto a Rodgers rumor. Thing is, there have been a LOT of them.

I don't think Gute or any Packers official is going to say anything other than they want him back at this point. Anything else would be a disaster in terms of relationship with Rodgers or trade value. Also, nothing they say in these pressers is going to be truthful or insightful, unless you are a mind reader or somehow pickup on something buried deep within the lines. Personally, I think Gute wants to trade Rodgers, but Murphy wants to keep him. MLF is a tougher read; I think he likes winning and Rodgers is a talented QB but he'd probably like to run his offense and Love might be the best chance for him to do that. If he's a Shanahan type, and Shanahan can spin gold from Brock Purdy, MLF should be able to do ok with Jordan Love.

There won't be any news until after the combine, and any trade likely happens just before the draft.

I will say again, Rodgers might be the better QB in 2023, but trading him is the best thing for the team if you look over the next 3 seasons because of his age and cap hit.
How likely is Rodgers to redo his contract in a way that doesn't hurt the team? How could that can be done?

Rich Eisen runs the 40 every year at the combine (or used to). I'd like to see HIM race Rodgers.

Murphy shouldn't be involved in who stays and who goes as far as players. Its simply not his job. That should be Gutes final say with some MiLF input. As for MiLF, he made Mariotta look serviceable so I have faith in him.

If Rodgers wants to stay I would BET he reworks his deal to clear cap space so they can sign someone in FA. He does want to win. But I won't go so far as saying less money, just moving it around. He could even potentially do a rework to facilitate a trade.

[run pMc]

Yeah, I could see them ask Rodgers to redo the contract somehow. Not sure what that looks like, IIRC he's set to make the vet minimum salary... all his money is in bonuses of some sort.

Tex, Brady is a pocket passer. Rodgers is a mobile QB. Lamar Jackson is a dual threat QB. Matt Stafford or Jameis Winston is a gunslinger type. The SF QB's (and Jared Goff) are game managers.

If you just mean ability to juke around in the pocket, no Rodgers hasn't lost that but even Brady can do that a little bit. That's not the legs so much as awareness, so I consider that more between the ears than athleticism.
Difference between Brady and Rodgers is Rodgers has always had enough mobility to at least execute a rollout. Brady's too slow for that. That said, Rodgers is slowing down and not breaking off long rushes like he did 10 or even 5 years ago. His legs aren't what they used to be, regardless of what you say.

[call_me_ishmael]

Rich Eisen runs the 40 every year at the combine (or used to). I'd like to see HIM race Rodgers.

Murphy shouldn't be involved in who stays and who goes as far as players. Its simply not his job. That should be Gutes final say with some MiLF input. As for MiLF, he made Mariotta look serviceable so I have faith in him.

If Rodgers wants to stay I would BET he reworks his deal to clear cap space so they can sign someone in FA. He does want to win. But I won't go so far as saying less money, just moving it around. He could even potentially do a rework to facilitate a trade.

[Fritz]

Rodgers would smoke him by a second or two ������

If he reworks the deal to lower cap this year, man that is just more pain later when he bounces. I’m not sure that’s a good idea given his cap isn’t crazy this year.

Unless he’s trying to get a trade partner for Love, it sure sounds like in the unlikely case both returned to the Packers this year, next year it’s Love show, so why not rip the Bandaid off this year IMO and take a shot next year in year two with relatively cheap fifth year option vs 40M a year they’re gonna have to pay him if he’s even decent in year 6. It makes no sense to keep Rodgers this year if they want Love to be their QB of the future.

This is a key point. We keep talking about Rodgers, Rodgers, Rodgers. Will he play or no? If he plays, will it be in Green Bay? Can he have a come back year if he returns?

We haven't talked quite as much about how the Packers feel about Love. Really, if they do think he's the guy - that he can be a good, maybe really good, quarterback in the NFL - then they pretty much have to trade Rodgers at this point, if Rodgers decides he wants to play. Imagine having the fifth-year option picked up on Love, AND Rodgers coming back to Green Bay. If Rodgers has insisted he wants the Packers to be competetive for a SB if he's going to come back, how are you going to field a SB-competetive team if TWO of your quarterbacks are costing that much? And even if somehow you decide to do that, then all you've done is put off the hand-wringing and uncertainty that you are already going through. Because if you do keep Rodgers AND Love, then Rodgers plays this year, then he hems and haws about retirement after the season ends, and you've got a guy in the wings you paid a boat-load of money to in order to be a back up, who is now about to become a FA. That would be horrible and stupid.

So - if Love is the guy, if you really, really think that he's going to be a good one, and if Rodgers decides he wants to play, then you almost have to trade him. Get a third from the Jets...But if you're blowing smoke about Love and you don't think he's all that, then you, of course, blow smoke about Love being ready, and try to trade him for whatever you can get.

It's really more about what the Packers think about Love than it is anything else.

[texaspackerbacker]

YES, YES, and YES.

I don't really give a damn about Love except as trade bait or a back up. Hell yeah, they could pick up his fifthyear option or even do a new longer term deal with him, cap-wise. If they deem him to be any good, that's probably smart, but it's not a big deal either way.

[Joemailman]

Reports are Derek Carr is signing with Saints. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-qb-derek-carr

That's good news if you want Rodgers traded. It means the Jets are still in the equation.

[RashanGary]

Reports are Derek Carr is signing with Saints. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-qb-derek-carr

That's good news if you want Rodgers traded. It means the Jets are still in the equation.

Tex gonna have egg on his face soon