The hot story of the NFL offseason will be where Aaron Rodgers plays next season. Will he remain in Green Bay, will he play for another team, or will he retire?
Now that Tom Brady announced his retirement, the Aaron Rodgers story will be the thing sports media will pontificate for hours on end in between the Super Bowl and when a decision is made. There’s a possibility Rodgers might be traded, but one thing is reportedly causing teams to pause in trading for the future Hall of Famer.
According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, some execs are saying that Rodgers’ offseason approach “could complicate trade talks.” In recent years, the 39-year-old left things somewhat open-ended in regard to what he does next season. And this year is no exception. Rodgers made his decision early enough in the offseason so the Packers could effectively plan for the NFL Draft with him as QB, but it makes for an uncertain period when things are up in the air.
For a team to trade for Rodgers, for the amount they will need to trade for him, they want some assurances that Rodgers won’t be “one-and-done” and retire next season. Fowler notes that “teams would prefer at least two seasons with Rodgers” in order to make it worth their while, and an NFC exec suggested conditional picks could be involved based on how long Rodgers plays. That might not be what the Packers want to hear, but it would ease fears and potentially result in a better trade for them.
Given it’s Aaron Rodgers, just about anything can happen, but you know everyone will be paying attention.
[ESPN]
