ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter offered a significant update on Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers on Saturday morning.
Schefter said on ESPN’s “Postseason NFL Countdown” that there’s a real possibility that Rodgers is traded at some point this offseason.
“This will be the third straight offseason in which Aaron Rodgers’ future is the subject of much speculation,” said Schefter on Saturday. “But make no mistake, both sides are fully aware that a trade is a very real scenario this offseason for Aaron Rodgers.”
“The Packers are expected to move on from certain players, which Aaron Rodgers probably will not like,” added Schefter.
“The issue here would be the $110 million dollars left on his contract and which team could afford it. But there is a real possibility that at some point this offseason Aaron Rodgers is going to be traded.”
Some QB updates from ESPN’s Postseason NFL Countdown on Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Derek Carr and Lamar Jackson: pic.twitter.com/nvtC06bw0p
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2023
The only way that Rodgers doesn’t play for the Packers in 2023 is if he’s traded or if he retires. Green Bay can’t release him because of the massive dead cap hit they’d face (they’ll also face a hefty dead cap hit if he’s traded, but it’s $40 million if he’s traded instead of $100 million if he’s released).
Finding a team that can afford Rodgers while meeting Green Bay’s asking price, however, could be difficult.
Should Green Bay run it back with Aaron Rodgers?
Wide receiver Randall Cobb is one of the players that Schefter could be talking about the Packers moving on from this offseason.
Cobb will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Rodgers and Cobb are close friends. In fact, Rodgers is the reason why Green Bay brought Cobb back two summers ago.
I still think the Packers should run it back in 2023 with Rodgers. And if that means they have to bring Cobb back on a one-year deal, then so be it (if he’s willing). Green Bay could also bring back Nathaniel Hackett to serve in some sort of role with the Packers (Hackett was one of Rodgers’ favorite assistants in Green Bay).
That scenario would likely mean trading Jordan Love, which would land some extra draft picks (or maybe the Packers can use a Love trade to fill a need with a veteran player…they have some options).
Green Bay started hitting their stride down the stretch, winning four of their final five games. With the emergence of Christian Watson plus the potential of Romeo Doubs, the Packers have some weapons that could help the team make a run in the NFC North in 2023.
