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Ranking the best potential trade destinations for Aaron Rodgers

AARON RODGERS IS TOO SENSITIVE FOR NEW YORK
With Aaron Rodgers potentially leaving the Green Bay Packers, we break down the best destinations for him to land.

With Aaron Rodgers potentially leaving the Green Bay Packers, we break down the best destinations for him to land.

With rumors swirling about Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Green Bay Packers, it seems at least somewhat likely that he could be on the trade market.

With Jordan Love entering his fourth season and the roster not quite being super bowl contender quality the Packers may choose that trading the 39 year old and starting Love next season is the best option.

The command would certainly be high for the four-time league MVP.  Rodgers didn’t play at an MVP level last season however he’s still amongst the top ten quarterbacks in the league.

He recently said this on Pat Mcafee’s show, “I think I can win MVP again in the right situation.”

With the current landscape of star quarterbacks entering their prime, winning MVP will be tough but I firmly believe he can still play at a high level.

With that said, there will be plenty of teams with interest in trading for the star quarterback.  There are certain teams that would instantly become super bowl contenders with him.  

So, without further ado let’s sort out the five best potential destinations for him if he is traded.

Any cap space information used is found on Spotrac.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers are a destination that will be difficult to maneuver because of their cap situation.  However, I think the Buccaneers would have a lot of interest in Rodgers if he was available.

With Tom Brady retiring, having a rebuilding year would make sense for them, however they’ve been aggressive in recent years and they likely feel that with the right quarterback they can win a weak NFC South again.

Compensation?

The potential compensation for Rodgers would be very interesting.  On one hand he just won back-to-back MVPs in 2020 and 2021.  However, on the other hand he’s a 39 year old who has had retirement rumors in the past.

My projected compensation would be at a starting point of a mid to late first round pick in this year’s draft, plus an additional selection.  It wouldn’t completely shock me if a team was willing to offer two first rounders, but I would expect the additional selection to be a day two pick.

I don’t foresee the Buccaneers offering two first round picks, but they could offer up their first rounder this season which is 19th overall.

4. New York Giants

Daniel Jones stepped up his game under new head coach Brian Daboll this season.  I’m expecting him to be back with the Giants, however if Aaron Rodgers is available, signing Jones to a franchise tag and trading him could be in play.

Adding Aaron Rodgers to a team that made the Divisional round last season would make the Giants one of the main contenders to come out of the NFC.

Compensation?

This would be a bit complicated because it would depend upon what the Giants could get for Daniel Jones.  The Packers likely wouldn’t be interested in a quarterback swap, but I would expect the Giants could acquire at least a day two pick for Jones.

Getting compensation for Jones in this potential scenario, would lessen the blow of what they would have to give up with Rodgers.  Their first round pick, which is 25th overall plus a day two pick could potentially get the job done.

3. Washington Commanders

The Commanders missed the playoffs last season but with Aaron Rodgers on the roster this is a team who could come out of the NFC.

Defensively, they are a strong unit as they were third in total defense last season and that was without Chase Young for a lot of the season.  Offensively, Rodgers would have a multitude of weapons with Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and last year’s first round pick Jahan Dotson.

Cap wise they can afford to make a move like this. They currently are 15th in the league in cap space with just under $7 million in cap space. They also can easily free up more money by releasing Carson Wentz who has a $26 million cap hit, but has $0 dead cap.

Compensation?

With the 16th overall pick, a first rounder plus an additional day two pick would be a package that would make sense for both sides.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

With Derek Carr out the door, the Raiders are in the market for a quarterback.  Reuniting Aaron Rodgers and Devonte Adams would be very exciting.

They are in a solid position with the salary cap to make a move for him as they have the ninth most cap space in the NFL with $17.5 Million.

Roster wise the Raiders still have a lot of holes to fill, especially on defense. However, putting Aaron Rodgers in this offense makes them an interesting team.  

Compensation?

With the seventh overall pick the Raiders have the best compensation to offer to the Packers.  That would give the Packers flexibility to target a young quarterback in the draft if they’re not entirely sold on Jordan Love or a high level non quarterback prospect.

1. New York Jets

When thinking of teams that would immediately become Super Bowl contenders with a good quarterback the Jets are the first team to come to mind.

They are coming off an incredible draft. That included first-team all-pro corner Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson who still eclipsed 1000 yards despite a bad quarterback situation, plus Breece Hall who was off to a great start to his career before an ACL injury ended his season.

The defense is one of the league’s very best as they were top five in both yardage and points allowed. The offense meanwhile could take a big step up with Aaron Rodgers under center.

Compensation?

The Jets could offer the 13th overall pick as a starting point to an offer for Rodgers.  This would give the Packers a chance to be able to take any wide receiver or tight end of their choice with that selection, which should be a priority for them.

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