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Now that the dust Aaron Rodgers picked up on Sunday has all but settled, here’s a summary of how things are between Rodgers and the Packers.
He has three years left under contract, with no money guaranteed. This allows the team to treat the relationship as an arrangement year by year. While the Packers are not, as CEO Mark Murphy said this week, idiots and will continue to embrace Rodgers in 2021, the contract makes it very easy to decide after the next season or the next to switch to the 2020 first round quarterback Jordan Love.
As long as Rodgers continues to play at a ridiculously high level, the non-stupid Packers will continue to not do stupid things. If Rodgers slips in 2021 or 2022, however, the Packers may decide it would be stupid not to speed up the rebuild / reload process and give Amor a chance.
Rodgers knows this. And Rodgers, surprised by the team’s decision to negotiate and escalate a quarterback, knows that the far less impressive decision in the future would be to promote the younger quarterback if / when it appears that the old gray quarterback is no longer what it used to be.
So Rodgers wants, above all, clarity. What is my position? It is a fair question for Rodgers to ask. Unlike his predecessor, Rodgers never thought about retiring prematurely or playing for anyone other than the Packers. He has been loyal and loyal to the Packers. If they are eventually not loyal and faithful to him, he simply would like to know what is to come, so that he can plan accordingly.
In the NFL, true clarity comes from a contractual commitment, or a lack of it. That’s why he wants a new deal. If he gets one, the structure will tie team to quarterback for at least two or three years. If you fail, you will still be clear about the attitude of the team.
Here’s the central question when it comes to Jordan Love: is he Jimmy Garoppolo or Aaron Rodgers? In other words, is he the guy who will be traded elsewhere during Aaron Rodgers’ career in the Hall of Fame, or will he be the guy the Packers will eventually make space for, like they did with Rodgers 11 years ago?
When he expressed uncertainty about the future of many of the team’s players and added the words “myself included”, Rodgers encapsulated that sentiment. Am I just keeping a warm seat for Jordan Love, or will Jordan Love eventually be replaced by draft assets or veteran players?
Packers prefer flexibility. Yes, it is obvious that they want Rodgers back in 2021. Will he play so well in 2021 that it will be obvious in 2022? Ideally, the team should be able to make this call after 2021.
At some level, Packers like the fact that Love’s presence helped push Rodgers to a higher level of performance. It’s probably one of the reasons why they wrote Love, and it’s a good reason for not giving Rodgers the clarity he’s looking for. Still, Rodgers wants to know where he is. He’s entitled to that. He is very good and very accomplished – and he has been very loyal to the team – to deserve nothing less than a direct answer to a simple question.
How do I fit into the team’s plans for the next 3-5 years?