Adam Schefter provides the latest on Aaron Rodgers' future in Green Bay
This offseason is barely underway, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers again finds himself right in the center of it. For the third straight year, serious questions are surrounding Rodgers and whether or not his future lies in Green Bay.
The Packers could be ready to give backup quarterback Jordan Love a look, and with the team’s tight financial situation, Rodgers leaving Green Bay could become a very real scenario.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter said just that on Sunday as part of the Postseason NFL Countdown broadcast.
“Well, did that sound like a guy who’s ready to retire?” Schefter asked of Rodgers. “And if he retired, by the way, he’d be walking away from $100 million in guaranteed money. So assuming that he’s not walking away from $100 million in guaranteed money, sounding like the guy that he does, you’ve got two options: He’s back in Green Bay or he’s traded.
“And there’s a real possibility here that both sides are going to be thinking about him being traded. If you look at the Packers’ cap situation, they right now are one of the teams that’s over the salary cap. They’ve got to find room somewhere. They’re about $15 million over the cap. If they trade Rodgers this offseason, they would clear out $16 million.”
Schefter: ‘Real possibility’ Rodgers is not in Green Bay next season
Green Bay won 13 games in three consecutive years from 2019-2021, and Rodgers was the NFL’s MVP in both 2020 and 2021. The Packers went just 8-9 and missed the playoffs this season, as Rodgers had a down year with 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The two sides have been contemplating the future of Rodgers for some time now, and Schefter expects Rodgers’ future in Green Bay to be a central storyline across the league yet again over the next couple of months.
“But aside from that, there’s just the common sense standpoint of this,” said Schefter. “Again, he, for a while, has had thoughts about leaving. This goes back a couple years. The Packers have had thoughts of moving on from him. That’s gone on for a while. At some point in time, they might want to take a look at Jordan Love. There’s salary cap considerations. I think that there are going to be moments this offseason where they’re going to wind up talking to teams to see whether it’s worth it to move ahead and trade Aaron Rodgers.
“And that, to me, is going to be one of the central storylines of the offseason. And just like we couldn’t imagine the day would come where they would trade Brett Favre, they traded Brett Favre. He was 38 years old, turned 39 that season. Aaron Rodgers is 39 right now. So there’s some real questions about his future and whether or not it’s in Green Bay. Both sides have to figure it out, but there’s a real possibility this results in a trade.”
It would be a big change if Rodgers does end up outside of Green Bay next season. But the possibility is real and seems to have growing momentum.