What’s Aaron Rodgers’ next move? QB plans hang in balance for Packers, Jets, Raiders
darkness retreat continues to cast a shadow over the NFL even with the league’s offseason shifting into high gear at this week’s scouting combine.
But the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders and other teams are effectively stuck in neutral as four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers continues to ponder his future. Each of those clubs find themselves in a unique quandary with free agency only a bit more than two weeks from commencing.
Here’s what we learned from their leadership Tuesday and what’s at stake with Rodgers’ decisions about whether to play – and where – still pending:
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Packers
General manager Brian Gutekunst got right to the point.
“I know there will be a lot of questions about Aaron,” he said to kick off his news conference. “We haven’t really had those conversations yet, so not a lot to report.”
Gutekunst said he’s texted with the quarterback, Green Bay’s starter since 2008, but has not yet spoken to him since Rodgers emerged from isolation in Oregon last week, time he ostensibly used to clear his head and map out his future.
QB2 Jordan Love, the team’s first-round pick in 2020. The Utah State product flashed progress in four brief appearances last year, and Gutekunst indicated the team is optimistic about Love’s arc.
“We’re excited about him,” he said.
However with no resolution on Rodgers, Gutekunst can’t make an informed determination on whether to pick up Love’s fifth-year option later this spring or even whether the 24-year-old might wind up being the quarterback he actually trades.
And as bullish as Gutekunst sounded about Love, he certainly doesn’t seem prepared – publicly anyway – to move on from the man who’s thrown the most touchdown passes in team history and is positioned to take down Brett Favre’s yardage mark in 2023.
“Our feelings haven’t changed about Aaron, but we need to have some of those conversations about our team, where it’s going, where he’s at before we go forward,” said Gutekunst.
meet again with Carr this week at the combine.
And yet Rodgers remains the elephant in the room, one Douglas can’t even acknowledge given the quarterback remains under contract to the Packers and speaking about him specifically would constitute tampering.
“Obviously, we’re going to be exploring the veteran quarterback market this offseason, and we’re going to look at every available option,” Douglas said.
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But does that leave room for Rodgers to belly up to the table for a few years, especially for a team so heavily invested in a 30-year-old target like Adams?
Takeaways
The guess here is the Rodgers situation will play out for about another week, the mystery likely to be further fueled in the backrooms of Indianapolis eateries this week as teams and personnel heads put their cards on the table. And that could mean others get into the game. The Atlanta Falcons, just as an example, continue to accrue loads of cap space – they now have officially parted with veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota – and can offer not only money but the prospect of playing with talented youngsters in a division that’s ripe for the taking.
But don’t expect this drama to go all the way to March 15, when free agents hit the market and teams can begin executing trades. Just a year ago, Rodgers agreed to his massive contract a week prior to free agency (incidentally, on the same day the Seattle Seahawks agreed to trade Russell Wilson to the Seattle Seahawks). It wouldn’t make any sense for Rodgers to hamstring the Packers or his next club – or further delay development of his golf game if he chooses to retire – by pushing this to the 11th hour. Waiting that long invites the risk of, for example, one of his potential suitors pivoting to Lamar Jackson … or investing cap and draft resources to attainable objectives.
But – for now – as long as Rodgers remains on his own timetable, many in the league will remain at a standstill … until they no longer can.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.