Monday Minute: Aaron Rodgers Wants Out Edition - 5/3/21
Hello darkness my old friend. The Draft is over and I officially don't know what to do with myself. This article isn't going to focus on the draft though. I want to talk about some of the trades and rumors floating around so this might be a bit of a shorter article.
2 things before we get into the article. First, I just wanted to thank everyone for making my Final Mock Draft my most viewed article in a 24 hour span and also since I started writing back in January. I 'extra special' appreciate the people who shared, favorited, RT'd, asked for the article, etc. It really does mean a lot to me. Even if I didn't score very well on the mock (42 points, 8 exact right, 26 players correct which is the exact same score as last year 😑).
My plans for the blog going forward are still going to be MWF articles at least for a little bit. I want to create a division by division article talking about each teams draft and giving out a grade for their Day 1 and 2 selections (since I don't know about a lot of the Day 3 guys). I also am planning on doing a fantasy article on what the best draft picks were through a fantasy lense and who could actually make an impact in 2021. Besides that, I am really not sure. We are officially in the downtime of the NFL calendar, so I might just take a break for a little when we get into late May and June before Training Camp and Fantasy come back around. Not sure.
If anyone has any suggestions for something they would like to see I am always happy to hear them.
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The biggest news from last week, that isn't draft related, is clearly what is going on with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Things seem to be at a boiling over point from Rodgers' POV and Green Bay doesn't sound like they are willing to budge on moving him. I have quite a few thoughts on this but let's first address what I think is the most overblown thing.
If Green Bay gets a good enough deal, they will trade Aaron Rodgers. This is a fact and Packers front office members are out there saying they will not trade him. You don't draft his replacement and then not have an idea for compensation that would be good enough to move him. Maybe they hadn't thought about it until the last week, but I can guarantee you that Green Bay has a price. No one has met it... yet.
There were reports a few hours before the draft that Denver had an offer on the table that was reportedly close to finalized, per Mark Schlereth. There was also a report from Trey Wingo that the Packers told him that he was going to be traded earlier in the offseason.
My opinion on these reports? Total BS. Schlereth and Wingo are VERY close friends. They were likely told information from the same person (in Rodgers' camp) but it was a loud of hooie. They reported it because they heard it, I have no doubt, but I am questioning the validity of the source. The reasoning? Why would you tell your All-Pro/MVP/Pro Bowl/Top 5 QB of all-time that you were trading him if you didn't already have a trade in place? What advantage do you have by telling him that you PLAN to trade him versus already having a trade in place? None. If a trade never materializes or a deal folds, all you have done is absolutely piss off Rodgers. No NFL GM would be that stupid. And yes I know we are at that point now, but the Packers GM is not an absolute idiot.
The reason the Mark Schlereth report is bogus is simple. Are you really trying to tell me that a day before the NFL Draft (the most anticipated event for GMs) that 31 teams realized that Rodgers was upset with the Packers and any of those teams were ready to completely alter their draft plans to throw a godfather offer at the Packers? After planning and setting up their board for 8 months? No chance. Trades don't come together that quickly, especially those involving MVP QBs.
Let's talk about Rodgers side though. The fans honestly have no clue as to what has tipped Rodgers over the edge. There are plenty of speculating reports but the most reasonable one is this. After the 2017 season, Green Bay fired their QBs coach without letting Rodgers know or talking to him prior. The coach had been with them since 2012 and Rodgers was so upset that he talked about it on TREY WINGO'S SHOW.
Also that offseason, Ted Thompson was no longer going to be the GM, moving to an advisory role. That sounds like he was fired but I'm just reading the reports. The thing that ticked Aaron off was that he DID NOT want Brian Gutekunst to get the job and he did.
In Brian's 3rd draft with the team, he selected Aaron's replacement and didn't tell Rodgers about it at all. Three big moves that the Packers made in a short time span that has Rodgers knowing that his future is elsewhere. This is the story that makes the most sense for why Aaron is totally bent out of shape.
The thing that is interesting to me is we are hearing about how the Packers have begun to have talks about extending Rodgers. With the shitstorm he is creating, there is probably some correlation. My over-arching theory is that Rodgers is doing this because he wants a much higher raise than the Packers are willing to give at this moment. Rodgers has always required the Packers to compensate him as one of the top QBs in the NFL. That is fair... he is that and deserves it. But I wonder if he is trying to almost cripple Brian's ability to make other moves because he hates him that much. Tying his hands to Rodgers or everyone else. It's interesting like I said... but honestly, it is all speculation.
Will Rodgers be playing in Green Bay in 2021? I have to think so. If the Packers were serious about trading him this offseason, they should have already done it. Trading him away now makes your cap situation more annoying to figure out and the picks you will be getting are all going to be in the future. However, Bart Starr and Brett Favre only played 16 seasons in Green & Gold... Rodgers is entering his 17th season.
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A few trades happened last week that I don't think impacted the draft but they certainly changed the teams' depth chart. QB Teddy Bridgewater was traded from Carolina to Denver and OG Ereck Flowers was traded from Miami to Washington.
First the QB trade. The final details of the trade are Teddy for a 6th round pick. Seems simple enough. However, there are a few contract issues that make this very palatable for Denver. Carolina is paying $7M to Bridgewater, which means that Denver will only be paying $3M. Also, with the trade his contract's 3rd year becomes void. So basically, Denver is acquiring him on a 1-year $3M contract. For a backup/starting QB that is a great deal. Denver no doubt brought him on to push Drew Lock or possibly supplant him if he doesn't produce in his 3rd year. Teddy was really awful in Carolina which is odd considering Joe Brady was the playcaller. I doubt he fares better in Denver.
Ereck Flowers was a 1st round bust as far as the New York Giants are concerned. But Washington brought him on in 2019 and he played at guard where he really excelled. So much so that Miami gave him a questionable 3-year $30M deal in free agency in 2020. Many dolphins fans including myself hated the move but he wasn't absolutely awful for us but his play did deteriorate as the season dredged on. The Dolphins and the Football Team swapped 7th round picks in the draft and Miami also paid him $6M, so Washington is only responsible for $3M of his contract in 2021. He can be cut in 2022 with $10M in cap savings. Miami has a few other young players in the pipeline at the guard position, so Ereck was in the way of their progression. Washington didn't have a need at guard but $3M for a decent backup isn't a bad deal either.
Another transaction that happened last week was that Antonio Brown and the Bucs found a sweet spot in their negotiations. It is a 1-year $3M deal fully guaranteed with a max value of up to $6M, if he hits all of his incentives. The Bucs ended up bringing back all 11 starters on offense and all 11 starters on defense from 2020.
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The last thing to quickly hit on are the trade rumors surrounding QB Jimmy Garroppolo and WR Julio Jones.
The Jimmy G rumors has been circulating for a few years that HC Kyle Shanahan wanted a new guy. They finally made a bold move to go and get their QB of the future in the draft. Knowing that they moved up for Trey Lance, it will be interesting to see if they move off of Jimmy. If he is moved, it would save the team $20M in cap space which could be extremely valuable to pick up veterans at other positions. However, Trey Lance has only started 17 games and none of the games were against great competition.
If it were me, Trey Lance doesn't need to hold a clipboard. He needs game reps. It will be a trial by fire early on in his career but he has the natural athleticism to just play. Run around and make plays. However, I understand the thoughts that he needs to learn the game behind Jimmy for a season.
The Julio trade rumors are a bit more serious in my estimation. The Falcons are in purgatory with their cap space and are so screwed with Matt Ryan's deal that they decided they couldn't justify taking a QB to replace him. Julio has a $23M cap hit this season but they can't move on from him this season. If they held on to him for one more year, they could cut him and save $2M but he is 32 years old right now with an extensive injury history. Who knows if he makes it through the season healthy?
There are some teams, including the Ravens, that have called about Julio but the contract makes everything a bit more difficult. No team wants to take that contract full on so these rumors may die down as well.
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TOP 10 Favorite Draft Pick to Team Pairings
- LA Chargers and OT Rashawn Slater
- Baltimore Ravens and WR Rashod Bateman
- Green Bay Packers and CB Eric Stokes
- Atlanta Falcons and S Richie Grant
- Las Vegas Raiders and S Trevon Moehrig
- Washington Football Team and OT Sam Cosmi
- Kansas City Chiefs and LB Nick Bolton
- Green Bay Packers and WR Amari Rodgers
- Minnesota Vikings and OG Wyatt Davis
- Houston Texans and WR Nico Collins
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Should I take a break from writing during the lull months of the NFL calendar? Let me know in the comments or at @KyleTheCommish on Twitter.
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