Aaron Rodgers 2021 landing spots: Raiders top possible suitors
By Dustin Baker
If Aaron Rodgers departs Green Bay, where will he end up?
The breadcrumbs are being strewn about the landscape of the NFL. First, Aaron Rodgers is aging. His effectiveness remains rather top-notch in most situations, but he will be 37 years-old in December.
Then in April, the Green Bay Packers selected a quarterback with their first selection in the 2020 NFL Draft assuredly befuddling most everybody. Rodgers took the high road and affirmed that he wished rookie Jordan Love all the best in his development.
If more evidence is needed, Rodgers personally admitted he was probably on borrowed time as the Packers signal-caller. He acknowledged the infamous “business side” of the NFL and all but conceded that he will play elsewhere before his career has a bow on it.
If you’re a student of Green Bay Packer football, these are seismic developments and statements. Often, whispers of this ilk, those involving cornerstone players, are decried as rumors or click-bait.
That’s not what this is.
None of these actions by the Packers (the selection of love) or statements by Rodgers (“I’m probably leaving”) are cloaked in mystery. Aaron Rodgers will encounter an exodus from Wisconsin, and the only prudent question is the when of the transaction.
Study up on Brett Favre and his biography from 2008-10 if you do not agree with the switch to Jordan Love happening soon. Favre was notorious for waffling on his next-year availability as soon as a season would wrap up semi-late in his career. In Aaron Rodgers’ defense, he emphatically has never done that.
The Packers have made extremely prophetic quarterback decisions in the last three decades. This feels like the next move on the chessboard. Out with the aging legend, in with the developing prospect [who matures into a Hall of Famer].
A litany of teams will inquire about Rodgers’ impeding decampment from Green Bay. These are the four destinations that are the most realistic. Side note: This commentary operates under the pretense that the Packers will not trade Rodgers to an NFC team for revenge-related reasons.
Note: All stats are via Pro Football Reference.