The Big Choice

[Dantés]

This offseason presents the Packers front office with a pretty huge decision.

They need to decide what they're going to do with Aaron Rodgers.

Option #1 would be to use cap trickery (voidable years, bad extensions, restructures, etc.) to push their bad cap situation further out one more season so you can keep Rodgers and try again. It wouldn't make sense to do that if you had to gut the roster. The pro is obvious-- you keep an MVP quarterback and take another shot at the super bowl. The con is also clear-- you pile up more cap pain for yourself down the road and you have the opportunity cost of not trading Rodgers for a bunch of assets. The other consideration is that, even with a lot of creativity around the cap, it may be impossible to keep everyone you really do want to keep.

Option #2 would be to accept this as the end of the Rodgers era and start trading/cutting players, accruing capital, and ushering in the next phase of Packers football. The pro here is that you get your cap pain out of the way and you gain a lot of resources towards the rebuild. The con is simply that you no longer have an MVP caliber QB and a whole host of other great players.

 

[Dantés]

Personally, nothing will upset me here. I see both sides for sure. And it may be that I would feel differently if I understand everything they're capable of doing to ease cap issues. But as I understand it, I think it's time to try and cash in on Rodgers and other key veterans and start over.

 

[Mondio]

I'm just going to wait and see and roll with it. I see both sides, i'm fine with both sides and nothing is a guarantee anyway. If Rodgers wants to keep playing I say, push the money, keep the band together, make the hurt worse later and see what happens. If he doesn't want to be here, then trade and let Adams go and extend some young guys and see what happens. If he wants to retire, get rid of anybody that isn't going to be in your 3+ year plan to save the cash or gain the draft capital and move on. I'm good with any.

 

[PackAttack12]

I'm a firm believer that this is a win now league. I've always felt that way. And when you have a football program that has won 13 games each of the past 3 seasons under Matt LaFleur, you keep trying to find ways to get over the hump.

I know there's a lot of raw emotion that's spilled out from the game as it relates to Aaron Rodgers. I get it. I understand it. It's totally frustrating. It's not only just the result on the surface, it's the result coupled with the reality that expectations were through the roof. All of us were thinking/hoping for Super Bowl, no question about it.

But I really just don't think some are understanding the potential magnitude of moving on from Rodgers. I get the thought (even though I don't agree) of "Jeez we just cannot win with this guy. Blow it up. Start over". Well...what do you think a Jets fan would say to that? What do you think a Bears fan or a Lions fan would say to that? Those fanbases would absolutely die to have what the Packers have had with Rodgers, being in the mix almost every single year.

The other part of this for me is something not many are thinking critically about:

When Favre was wishy washy and wanting to retire, then wanted to play, etc., the Packers finally just said enough is enough and moved on. You want to know why? Because the team KNEW at least some of what they had in Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings. They saw glimpses. They saw tons of potential. And that made it easy on the team to finally say "okay dude. Enough is enough. We're done".

So if fans and media are so sick and tired of Aaron Rodgers.....why doesn't the team feel this way? If they were SO confident in what they have with Love, why wouldn't they take more of a hard line stance? I'll tell you why...it's because they know Love isn't the guy. Either that, or he's still a long way away from giving anyone in the organization the confidence that he could be the guy.

And if you don't have what you are totally confident is the true successor to Rodgers, why in the world would you move off of him? That's the dilemma the Packers are in. If they truly thought they had Mahomes 2.0, or anything even halfway close to that, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

So to wrap it up, you have to do whatever is humanly possible to get Rodgers on board and move forward with him. At least that's my 2 cents.

 

[gopkrs]

Personally, nothing will upset me here. I see both sides for sure. And it may be that I would feel differently if I understand everything they're capable of doing to ease cap issues. But as I understand it, I think it's time to try and cash in on Rodgers and other key veterans and start over.

I like it. I just don't see that situation as a complete start over. It would give us a bunch of flexibility now I think. Of course the key piece is a QB. But we are gonna have to deal with that eventually anyway.

 

[tynimiller]

Cap aerobics could be done to make it work with Rodgers staying BUT I honestly don’t see a world he is willing to do it with the team the cap restraints would make a reality…..without implementing literally the self destruct button for the future of the franchise he claims to love.

You think the dark days are going to hit if Rodgers leaves…just wait and see how dark it will get if we push tons of cap into a destructive future and he retires and we get nothing in an attempt to move on after.

I’ll ride or die with whichever decision we make…but I’ll also be honest in what cost any decision will have.

 

[Firethorn1001]

While I would like Rodgers back, I'm not quite ready to wander the wilderness for who knows how many years, but.. I have no idea how Rodgers comes back along with Adams because I don't see Rodgers returning without Adams (and possibly Cobb)

Not sure I'd want to see the cap so bad that they can't do anything in 2024-25 though..

 

[ARPackFan]

Gut it like a carp.

Look at the Saints if you want to see what kicking the rock down the road looks like. I have a feeling their 2023 & 2024 cap space will dramatically shrink by March 16 (End of 2021 and beginning of 2022 league years)

2021: Saints were almost $100M over and luckily Drew Brees retired.
2022: $74M over (worst in NFL)
2023: $31M under (2nd least amount of cap room)
2024: $130M under (3rd least amount of cap room)

 

[gopkrs]

Gut it like a carp.

Look at the Saints if you want to see what kicking the rock down the road looks like. I have a feeling their 2023 & 2024 cap space will dramatically shrink by March 16 (End of 2021 and beginning of 2022 league years)

2021: Saints were almost $100M over and luckily Drew Brees retired.
2022: $74M over (worst in NFL)
2023: $31M under (2nd least amount of cap room)
2024: $130M under (3rd least amount of cap room)

You like eating carp?

 

[ARPackFan]

You like eating carp?

Smoked carp is actually pretty good. I've not had it since the time I lived in the north. In Arkansas we eat catfish which is a bottom dweller that probably lives on carp sh*t.

 

[gopkrs]

Smoked carp is actually pretty good.

My uncle, fly fisherman extraordinaire, used to just throw them in the weeds. He's a trout purist. But I have actually heard that before.

 

[OldSchool101]

I'm a firm believer that this is a win now league. I've always felt that way. And when you have a football program that has won 13 games each of the past 3 seasons under Matt LaFleur, you keep trying to find ways to get over the hump.

I know there's a lot of raw emotion that's spilled out from the game as it relates to Aaron Rodgers. I get it. I understand it. It's totally frustrating. It's not only just the result on the surface, it's the result coupled with the reality that expectations were through the roof. All of us were thinking/hoping for Super Bowl, no question about it.

But I really just don't think some are understanding the potential magnitude of moving on from Rodgers. I get the thought (even though I don't agree) of "Jeez we just cannot win with this guy. Blow it up. Start over". Well...what do you think a Jets fan would say to that? What do you think a Bears fan or a Lions fan would say to that? Those fanbases would absolutely die to have what the Packers have had with Rodgers, being in the mix almost every single year.

The other part of this for me is something not many are thinking critically about:

When Favre was wishy washy and wanting to retire, then wanted to play, etc., the Packers finally just said enough is enough and moved on. You want to know why? Because the team KNEW at least some of what they had in Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings. They saw glimpses. They saw tons of potential. And that made it easy on the team to finally say "okay dude. Enough is enough. We're done".

So if fans and media are so sick and tired of Aaron Rodgers.....why doesn't the team feel this way? If they were SO confident in what they have with Love, why wouldn't they take more of a hard line stance? I'll tell you why...it's because they know Love isn't the guy. Either that, or he's still a long way away from giving anyone in the organization the confidence that he could be the guy.

And if you don't have what you are totally confident is the true successor to Rodgers, why in the world would you move off of him? That's the dilemma the Packers are in. If they truly thought they had Mahomes 2.0, or anything even halfway close to that, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

So to wrap it up, you have to do whatever is humanly possible to get Rodgers on board and move forward with him. At least that's my 2 cents.

I respect you backing our QB. It’s 1 of about 4-5 options we have.

Give me a #9, #28, #41 as payment (Denver’s 2 picks) and I’ll give you likely one of the best 2 QBs coming out of college without losing 1 other meaningful selection right now this draft. That means I get not 1, but 2 day 1 QB’s vying for starter for the next 2 seasons. I also pay both of them roughy 25% of what I pay #12 and a backup for at least 2 seasons. I still get all my draft selections starting at #60 and #98 and Day 3 selections. I also save $30mil year 1 which just fixed my cap issue. I can also borrow from next season because I’ll save another 30mil. We haven’t even discussed cap increased. Add to that we pick 2 more Day 1 selections in 2023 plus all my other regular draft capital.

I’ve got a 50/50 chance that I’ll get 2 more seasons Past that on a QB rookie contract at ~60mil saved. I now fixed my deficit and have about ~90mil more to retain current players over 3 seasons. I can take legitimate shots at guys like Campbell, Rasul, J’aire, ZaDarius etc
I might not keep them all but I can retain a good Defense and possibly even sign another good veteran or 2 from outside like we did last season.

We can trade for outside help like Huntley etc… and we’d have both draft capital AND financial power to do it and still be picking multiple day 1 or day 2 selections in both 2022 AND 2023. We could let those 2 QB battle for #1 and #2. Difference is we’d likely have a top 10 Defense keeping us in games (similar to SF) and a ST unit that won’t get in our way. Hire the best College ST staff available and stock our ST with some fresh talent. Rid the weakest links and make them our strength.

We can no longer afford retaining all these players if Rodgers extends. If he goes down for ANY reason we’re doomed. We either make a decision now and get beaucoup talent or keep the “old guy” and suffer. An above average QB could’ve won that last game if injected with another Kenny Clark type plus a Mark Andrews or WR like T Mcclaurin or Jefferson or a Deebo etc.. we can go get those type guys with A slice here n there but we don’t have a chance with #12 eating 3 slices of pizza.

If we learned anything we learned that 1 player does not carry the entire team. You need guys like Deebo and Bosa or a Kittle or Mark Andrews or a Jefferson or tue Rashan Gary’s to pair talent. I’m sorry but Aaron Rodgers didn’t hold SF to 2 FG’s. Maybe we get another Stud OL and just cram the ball down people throats! We don’t need Love packsge trade him for resources if you want idc. There’s lots of good QBs coming into the league in ‘22 and ‘23. Take your pick,, perennial Winners of the NFC North or set your sights at a SB. There’s a difference and we’re living in 2010. It’s 2022 start trusting our GM or keep his hands tied behind his back and keep slapping his face with insults and let individual players dictate our teams’ plans

 

[KiDcUdI]

The team is already over $45M. How much more kicking can you do.

It’s why I’m the off-season I said the Packers needed to take some of their medicine to ease the pain. It’s also why I have repeatedly urged Packers fans to research the cap during the season and see how awful a job Gutey has done managing this teams resources.

I mean did we need to resign Lewis and King? I don’t think so. In fact both were overpaid. Did we need to resign Jones despite having Dillon? Again I don’t think so.

At this point I think the only viable move is to tear down and rebuild. It’s the worst thing for the team but it’s the only thing we can do.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

Rodges said he wants no part in rebuilding a team.
I say trade him now, get the best deal and move on.
There are more Rodgers out there.
There are more Adams out there.
Let the future for the Packers begin

 

[BrokenArrow]

False dichotomy. Those aren't the only options. I'd prefer to tag/trade Adams and trade Rodgers. The roster doesn't have to be gutted.

 

[swhitset]

Rodges said he wants no part in rebuilding a team.
I say trade him now, get the best deal and move on.
There are more Rodgers out there.
There are more Adams out there.
Let the future for the Packers begin

Rodgers is probably a top 5 QB …. saying there are other Rodgers out there is just ….. whatever. Yeah I’m pissed they lost too…. but JFC at least understand the reality of what is to come.

 

[swhitset]

False dichotomy. Those aren't the only options. I'd prefer to tag/trade Adams and trade Rodgers. The roster doesn't have to be gutted.

Tagging Adams makes us responsible for that huge salary all in one year 2022. We would then have 8 days to make that trade or we would be screwed… not a likely option. Trading Rodgers is also a pretty big cap hit next year…. if he retires we obviously can’t stop that …. and i’m not sure if we’d get any cap relief from that but I doubt it. Ironically extending him is the only way we get any cap relief next year. I say this based on your statement about not gutting the roster…. we have to clear a lot of cap space not to gut the roster … extending Rodgers would be the biggest place to find that money.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Tagging Adams makes us responsible for that huge salary all in one year 2022. We would then have 8 days to make that trade or we would be screwed… not a likely option. Trading Rodgers is also a pretty big cap hit next year…. if he retires we obviously can’t stop that …. and i’m not sure if we’d get any cap relief from that but I doubt it. Ironically extending him is the only way we get any cap relief next year. I say this based on your statement about not gutting the roster…. we have to clear a lot of cap space not to gut the roster … extending Rodgers would be the biggest place to find that money.

I'm tired of the Rodgers/Adams combo. Time to move on. It doesn't work. Wanna guess why the Niners didn't bother to cover Lazard on the last play? Because the book on Rodgers says its the smart play because he won't throw to anyone but Adams in that situation. They were right. The only way I would favor keeping Rodgers around is if Adams leaves.

 

[swhitset]

I'm tired of the Rodgers/Adams combo. Time to move on. It doesn't work. Wanna guess why the Niners didn't bother to cover Lazard on the last play? Because the book on Rodgers says its the smart play because he won't throw to anyone but Adams in that situation. They were right.

I don’t disagree with that ironically. However I think it’s more about not having fortified the roster with other top receivers. Rodgers stopped looking elsewhere because the gap between Adams and anyone else is immense. Rodgers used to look elsewhere when he had more than one top receiver on the team.

 

[BrokenArrow]

I don’t disagree with that ironically. However I think it’s more about not having fortified the roster with other top receivers. Rodgers stopped looking elsewhere because the gap between Adams and anyone else is immense. Rodgers used to look elsewhere when he had more than one top receiver on the team.

More excuses. Brady/Brees/just about anyone would have thrown the easy first down to Lazard on that last play. Rodgers should ALWAYS look for the best option on ANY play instead of just zeroing in on his buddy when he panics. It's why he's not a good QB anymore. He's too dependent on his crutch. Are you seriously saying that his decision on that play was acceptable to you?

 

[AKCheese]

After the stunt Arrogant Rodgers pulled last spring you want to give him a huge pile of up front money and tie yourself to him for years then have him suffer another hot flash and screw the franchise? Get what you can for him, retool with a defense/run oriented team and lets go. I’d say there’s a HIGH probability we make the playoffs, which is what we accomplished this year with His Arrogance.

 

[swhitset]

More excuses. Brady/Brees/just about anyone would have thrown the easy first down to Lazard on that last play. Rodgers should ALWAYS look for the best option on ANY play instead of just zeroing in on his buddy when he panics. It's why he's not a good QB anymore. He's too dependent on his crutch. Are you seriously saying that his decision on that play was acceptable to you?

Yes he should … speculating about what Brady would have done is irrelevant though. Saying he is no longer a good QB is just ridiculous. He finished the regular season as the favorite to win the MVP.… and please don’t give me the nonsense about only being a good regular season QB … thats the kind of crap an ESPN reporter would come up with to sell a story. Rodgers did make mistakes in the game. He also made enough plays to win it if others had not made a bunch of key mistakes.

 

[AKCheese]

Great QBs step up in big games. Rodgers does not. Great techincal thrower of the football, plays well during the regular season, great stats. Can’t get it done in big games. Failed last year, failed this year.

 

[pacmaniac]

He also made enough plays to win it if others had not made a bunch of key mistakes.

ST made mistakes, but they were kind of expected. Did anyone here actually think that ST would play a flawless game based on what we saw all year long?

To say that Rodgers made enough plays when they only scored 10 points - those are really low standards for an MVP-calibre QB.

 

[swhitset]

ST made mistakes, but they were kind of expected. Did anyone here actually think that ST would play a flawless game based on what we saw all year long?

To say that Rodgers made enough plays when they only scored 10 points - those are really low standards for an MVP-calibre QB.

You are still doing it. Rodgers didn’t have anything to do with the blocked FG… that would have been 13 points. Rodgers didn’t cause Big Dawg to fumble…. that drive seemed destined for points. Rodgers put the ball in Deguara’s hands… he didn’t cause him to drop that key third down pass. Rodgers was harassed by the niners defensive line on every single play … and the offensive line was not good. Meanwhile the defense only allowed 6 points all game…. so yeah that 10 points should have been enough. Rodgers made some mistakes. I wasn’t happy about them either. He is not perfect. He is better than most.