Packers Reportedly Prefer to “Move On” From Aaron Rodgers This Offseason

One week after rumors of a potential Aaron Rodgers’ trade re-emerged, the activity seems to be ramping up. The Green Bay Packers are once again entertaining the idea of life after their longtime QB1, per Adam Schefter (ESPN), with some specific (and understandable) financial reasoning baked into the calculus.

Here’s the report (bolded emphasis mine):

An offseason trade of Aaron Rodgers remains an option for the Green Bay Packers for a variety of reasons, league sources told ESPN.

A scenario that once seemed unthinkable, a Rodgers trade could be driven by financial reasons, the state of the Packers franchise and ultimately the feelings of the team and the star quarterback.

League sources believe the franchise prefers to move on from Rodgers, just as it once did with Brett Favre. Those sources also believe that Rodgers is well aware of the Packers’ feelings on the situation.

So is this “Where the fun begins?” Or are we at more of a “Here we go again” kind of situation?

I actually think it may be closer to the former.

While we went through this song and dance last offseason (no one knows how to manufacture offseason drama like Rodgers) it feels different this time. Today’s reporting is more about the Packers wanting to move on from Rodgers than the other way around. That wasn’t the case last year.

There’s also a notable financial component. Broadly speaking, Green Bay currently projects to be more than $16 million *OVER* next year’s salary cap. A potential hurdle made more difficult by the fact that they have a bunch of notable free agents (including, perhaps, potential Bears targets like Allen Lazard and Robert Tongan).

More specifically, there’s the Rodgers’ money. The Packers QB is set to make $59.5 million in guaranteed dollars this year and another $49.25 million in 2024. But even that is complicated; we touched on a tangent of this topic last week, while first discussing the matter of a possible Rodgers trade:

Dealing Rodgers would come with a $66.99 million cap hit *AND* a $99.6 million dead money number. I suppose a trade after June 1 could be more palatable. Per OTC’s notes, a post-June 1 Rodgers trade would create $1.215 million in cap space for the Packers. Sure, it would come with a dead money hit north of $30.4 million. However, that is far easier to swallow than the alternative.

We’ll monitor this situation closely. Not only because we love Rodgers-related schadenfreude (Michael: And I can’t wait to get him out of my life), but also because any potential move could lead to a huge shift in the NFC North. So stay tuned.