I really would be surprised if there's anything to the notion of trading LaFleur, but even if there were I'd suspect you could see that pretty quickly turn into a bit of a chess match...
Even assuming that the team taking him on in trade would only do so with it being contingent on a long-term deal... It wouldn't be surprising if you had a team interested in LaFleur but willing to say "We're not desperate enough to give up any draft capital for him, next year we can make the best offer for him in free agency" and just hold off. In that case then we're effectively stuck continuing with LaFleur and just watching him walk for no compensation in just a year's time
Coaches rarely have explicit "no trade" clauses but practically speaking they kind of do. Especially in LaFleur's shoes... if GB tries to play hardball and force a trade out, MLF can just tell the other team involved that he won't sign a contract with them. They aren't going to offer anything meaningful for a one year coach rental so our hands are basically tied.
But on the flip side, in that same situation GB could be looking around the coaching landscape and thinking "There's already 8 openings this year and we could see these ones opening up next year". If they want a guy like Harbaugh (for example. Or anyone else currently available) they know they can't afford to wait until next season. In that case, they're incentivized to try and get a trade deal done now (if that's the course of action they want to pursue) rather than go another year with LaFleur, see him leave for free, and have your preferred target(s) signed elsewhere by next year.
I would also wager that Payton trade as a comp is almost certainly better than you could expect for LaFleur. Payton had some "baggage" but he also comes with a Super Bowl ring, a great record in the regular season (not quite as good as Lafleur's to be fair, but nearly 2x as many games overall) and a better record of playoff success. That plus LaFleur's contract situation probably sets a lower-than-Payton ceiling in a MLF trade.
So in the event that GB is considering trading LaFleur, possibly pushing his value up:
+ still under contract until 2026
+ solid record of developing QBs
+ excellent regular season record
+ teams consistently make the postseason
+ many teams with coaching openings (i.e. high demand and limited supply)
And possibly driving it down:
- team trading for him will need to negotiate long-term deal
- some teams may prefer to wait and sign as FA rather than give up draft capital
- GB potentially motivated to "sell" quicker if they have a particular replacement in mind
- LaFleur basically controls where he goes = less leverage for GB
SO, I don't know. I don't see it as very likely but if we lose this weekend I would think a team like the Dolphins will at least make some calls...
But it will be moot when we beat Chicago and continue onward, so it's all good
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