NEWSLETTER
After an offseason of taking subliminal shots from Aaron Rodgers’ general direction, the time has come for GM Brian Gutekunst patch things up with his starting quarterback.
And this seems like a noble first step:
I’M COMING HOME! 💚💛 pic.twitter.com/qxSwkQo89f
— Randall Cobb (@rcobb18) July 28, 2021
A welcome-back gift for Aaron Rodgers: the Texans are trading former Packers’ WR Randall Cobb back to Green Bay, per Randall Cobb. Cobb has been a longtime favorite of Rodgers.
But this trade’s for Aaron.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2021
Randall Cobb is returning to the Packers in a trade with the Texans. Cobb, who turns 31 in August, caught 38 passes for 441 yards, and 3 touchdowns in 10 games last year in Houston. But before that, Cobb was a popular target for Rodgers while with the Packers from 2011-18. Cobb put up a 1,287-yard, 12-touchdown season in 2014 to highlight his time in Green Bay. Now he is set to return to be an option again for Rodgers because time is a flat circle. Well, that, and because the Packers should be wanting to do whatever they can to oblige by Rodgers’ demands or risk him getting serious about trade demands next offseason.
What’s wild about this whole thing is that the Bears indirectly got the ball rolling on this whole scenario. By trading Anthony Miller to the Texans, it set up Houston to move on from Cobb. Miller essentially replaces Cobb in the lineup out of the slot. To be fair, moving Cobb off the books was probably in the works anyway. And I don’t think the Bears were thinking about the Rodgers factor when making this deal with Houston. The Texans are a rebuilding franchise that should be looking to get younger all over the field. Pushing Cobb and his $10.47 million cp number in 2021 off their books was likely a high priority no matter what Rodgers’ situation was in Green Bay. It just so happens things worked out in this way. Admittedly, the optics don’t look great from a Bears perspective. But what else is new?
