The Packers and Aaron Rodgers find themselves in a standoff. Reports about Rodgers’s discontent with the Packers’ front office after years of not building a stronger supporting cast around him emerged on the first night of the 2021 NFL Draft. Though no deal is imminent, a trade for the nine-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro is more likely than not.
The 37-year-old is coming off one of his best seasons yet, earning 2020 NFL MVP honors, under head coach Matt LaFleur. He accumulated a league-leading and career-best 70.7 completion rate for 4,299 yards, a whopping 48 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. Rodgers remains a top 3 quarterback in the NFL without question.
Many teams would undoubtedly be interested in Rodgers if everything was equal. But money matters and giving up assets and dealing with cap hits in trades can limit what’s possible for certain teams. For example, the Steelers wouldn’t be able to dump Ben Roethlisberger to acquire Rodgers because of contract structures.
How the Packers view Jordan Love, their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is another interesting wrinkle. If they think he’ll be a legitimate star, they can agree on a package without a veteran or blue-chip young quarterback coming back. Teams like the Dolphins and the Jets could package their young signal callers along with picks if they wanted, but the Packers may prefer to build around Love.
Keeping the financial limitations in mind and considering how likely it is a team would give up on their current quarterback and move additional assets, we’ve come up with five trade destinations for Rodgers that actually make sense.