Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers has made it clear he’s unhappy with the Packers but the trade market for the quarterback is reportedly nonexistent.
In a vacuum, the list of NFL teams that wouldn’t want Aaron Rodgers is extremely short. He’s the reigning NFL MVP, a future Hall of Famer and one of the most talented quarterbacks to ever play the game. Even in his late 30s, he could lead a number of teams to a Super Bowl. Yet, as Rodgers could, in theory, be available for a trade, there aren’t any takers.
Appearing on Get Up! on Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that there is “no trade market” for Aaron Rodgers right now (h/t Bleacher Report). This was also in a related discussion to the July 2 COVID-19 opt-out deadline, which Rodgers declined to exercise.
Given the amount of speculation we’ve seen about Rodgers joining the Broncos, 49ers or a litany of other teams amid his rift with the Green Bay Packers, it’s shocking to hear that there is no market. And it does make one wonder why that is the case, especially with a player of the quarterback’s caliber.
What does ‘no trade market’ for Aaron Rodgers mean?
The simplest answer to what the lack of trade market means is that the league believes he’s not going to be dealt. After his initial reporting on TV, Fowler took to Twitter to add further context to what he initially said and echoed this same sentiment.
Valuable context, as I explained on show before Zoom snafu cut out part of answer: No market because GB still giving zero indications it's trading him. Hence, there's nothing for monitoring teams to do right now. https://t.co/GLmYqekjvi
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 2, 2021
Now, it’s important to note Fowler’s words here. He’s not saying that teams aren’t interested — in fact, the indication is the opposite. However, he’s saying that there is nothing material to discuss at this point because the Packers are steadfast that the quarterback isn’t being traded, a sentiment they’ve relied publicly on numerous occasions.
So if we take into account that Green Bay’s unwillingness to trade Aaron Rodgers is causing the market to die or at least go dormant, then what does that mean moving forward?
If you’re an optimistic Packers fan, this could be taken as a good sign. The organization being this dug in on keeping their quarterback could eventually mean that they concede enough in negotiations or talks with Rodgers that he returns to the team and plays the 2021 season. That’s not implausible at this point.
On the other hand, however, if Rodgers is dug in himself, that’s where things could get ugly for Green Bay. They would ten run the risk of either having their quarterback simply sit out the season and leave them in a tough spot or even in a position where they are all but forced to trade him. And at that point, they’ll have lost a ton of leverage in any possible deal.
With less than a month until the start of training camp, the Aaron Rodgers saga in Green Bay is far from over. The fact that there is no trade market right now doesn’t change that and, frankly, could only fuel more drama than there already is. As has been the case for two months now, we remain in a holding pattern to see if the Packers or their all-world quarterback budge first.