Aaron Rodgers Says He Isn’t Going To The 49ers: Here's a Trade Idea if He Changes His Mind
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This morning I was contemplating exactly what I wanted to write about regarding the Packers today. For those of you who may be new to this newsletter I’ve been putting out youtube videos about the Packers since May of 2020. In the past year I started this newsletter. I’ve been pretty inconsistent but this past week I’ve decided to write way more. Part of this desire came because I’ve been snowed in. I live in Texas and when any amount of snow or ice falls the city gets shut down for days. There’s something about being stuck in my house that makes me want to write. So here I am writing way more than usual. Maybe this is a sign to keep this going.
I went back and forth this morning. My first idea was breaking down the top 3 trade destinations for Aaron Rodgers if he were to be traded. As I was digging deep on the San Francisco 49ers I was starting to convince myself that they would actually make so much sense for Aaron Rodgers. Then I decided to create a trade idea between the Packers and 49ers that I thought would satisfy both sides. Yes they are both in the NFC and while I agree that the Packers would likely prefer to trade him to the AFC if they could get a better deal in the NFC I say you make that trade.
Moments before I started to write I got a notification on my phone that said “Aaron Rodgers says he isn’t going to San Fran.”
Well that sort of put a wrench in what I was about to write. And I had an incredible trade idea…
If Rodgers is being honest he isn’t going to the 49ers. Part of me wonders if we can cross them out for sure. Personally I don’t see why Rodgers wouldn’t want to go to San Fran if given the opportunity because of the all around strength of the team that Kyle Shannahan has built there.
They had the best defense in the NFL in 2022. Their offense has an endless arsenal of weapons: Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian Mccafrey. If Rodgers was leading that team they’d be in the Super Bowl next weekend. I guess Rodgers could still be angry that they passed on him in the 2005 NFL draft where they decided to draft Alex Smith at #1 overall instead.
The 49ers had terrible injury luck at QB in 2022 but as they move into next season they do have a couple options at QB already on their roster.
They had the 6th best scoring offense in the NFL in 2022 with Brock Purdy at the helm. Purdy had an impressive stretch and it was sad to see him go down with an injury in the way that he did in the NFC championship game. Trey Lance could come back healthy and be ready to go next season. Purdy could be out for around 6 months with his injury and based on a 49ers news conference from Kyle Shanahan yesterday Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be a 49er in 2023. The 49ers could decide to roll with Purdy next year. I bet they let Lance and Purdy battle it out in training camp.
Here’s what I was envisioning about the possibility of an Aaron Rodgers led 49er squad.
If you’re the 49ers you have to be upset that you haven’t been able to get over the NFC championship hump the past 2 seasons.
If Rodgers was your QB the last 2 years you may have a superbowl win. Right now the 49ers have about $5 million of cap space available for 2023. If Rodgers is traded his cap hit will be about $15 million for the team acquiring him in 2023. Pretty reasonable for a player of Rodgers caliber if you ask me. The 49ers could likely free up enough space with restructuring different players' contracts.
Even though Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have a no trade clause, no team would want to trade for a player if the player doesn’t want to be there. And even if Rodgers was okay with the idea the Packers may not be interested in having to compete with Rodgers in the NFC. However things can always shift in a hurry.
Because I already created a trade idea for the 49ers and Packers I’ll share it with you in the case that Aaron Rodgers changes his mind. Crazier things have happened.
49ers Receive: Aaron Rodgers
Packers Receive: 2024 1st, Brandon Aiyuk
The 49ers don’t have a 1st or second round pick in 2023 so we have to go to 2024 to get the Packers a first rounder. The 49ers have so many weapons already that I figured they could spare Brandon Aiyuk. Jordan Love says thank you.
Green Bay could use one more talented WR if Jordan Love is going to take over. In this scenario the Packers get solid draft capital and a player that will help the offense get off to a great start. Aiyuk has one more year left on his rookie contract so he will be cheap in 2023. The 49ers get an elite QB for an already explosive offense.
The reason I landed on Rodgers to San Francisco this morning is because they are the one team that doesn’t seem to have any holes. They are already solid on both offense and defense. Other teams like the Jets and Raiders have some weak spots. The Jets had the 30th graded pass blocking offensive line in 2022 per PFF and the Raiders had the 26th ranked scoring defense. The Jets should be getting some injured players back but the line is still shaky and Rodgers has been rocking with a below average to below average defense in Green Bay for years and I assume he’d like the help of an elite defense. The 49ers are solid on both of those fronts.
There’s a chance Rodgers doesn’t want to go to a place that is already having success at the highest level. It could be that if he is traded he wants to be traded somewhere that he could make a big difference and change the culture of the team. If he goes to San Francisco and wins a superbowl he would get much less credit than if he were to win a superbowl with the Raiders or New York Jets.
Stay tuned as Aaron Rodgers trade watch continues.
Packers won't trade Rodgers to a Nfc team