Getty Geronimo Allison celebrates with Aaron Rodgers.
Geronimo Allison played with Aaron Rodgers for the first few years of his career seemingly hitting the quarterback jackpot, but now that the wideout has moved on to the Detroit Lions, is it possible he has only improved his fortunes as a pass catcher?
Not many would take that line of thinking seriously considering Rodgers is a perennial MVP candidate as well as a player who has always been able to lead his Green Bay Packers to division titles and playoff births while helping teammates have career years. In spite of that, Allison might actually be getting a leg up by getting to catch passes from Matthew Stafford at this point in time according to one analyst.
On the Pick Six Podcast on CBS Sports, John Breech said that watching and seeing how Allison performs in Detroit with Stafford could be a litmus test to see if Rodgers himself is in a decline.
“This could be an upgrade at quarterback… this could be telling about just how far Aaron Rodgers has declined.”
@johnbreech talks about Geronimo Allison signing with the Detroit Lions.
“This could be an upgrade at quarterback,” Breech said. “I think it will be interesting if Geronimo Allison shows up in Detroit and puts up say 50 or 60 catches and 500 or 600 yards, doubles his output in Green Bay, that’s really an indictment on Aaron Rodgers and maybe what the Packers are doing. So this could be telling.”
It’s true that Allison has not been as productive the last few seasons, and if he plays well in Detroit in an offense which looked to be coming into its own last season, it might only serve to prove that the wideout was severely overlooked with the Packers.
As for the Rodgers vs. Stafford debate, it’s true that Stafford is the younger player and theoretically has the better short term future in the league. To that end, it might not be so extreme what Breech is suggesting. While his trophy case is certainly more bare than Rodgers, betting on a 32 year old to put up better numbers than a 36 year old might not be that much of a stretch at this point.
Lions Sign Geronimo Allison
Over the weekend, Detroit revealed they had signed free agent wideout Geronimo Allison to a contract. Allison was a veteran wide receiver who played with the Packers for the last three seasons, and was a target of the team as well as Rodgers.
Coming to the Lions, Allison could be expected to fill in near the bottom of the roster and battle for the No. 4 spot next season. The fact he’s a veteran player could be an advantage for Allison as it relates to chasing down a future roster spot. Additionally, the fact he’s worked with a player like Rodgers could prove to be a benefit.
Geronimo Allison Stats
In his career, Allison has put up 1,045 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. He’s played 3 seasons with the Packers after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois. While with the Fighting Illini, Allison put up 1,480 yards and 8 touchdowns in a pair of seasons. Allison originally started at Iowa Western Community College and transferred to Illinois before beginning his NFL career.
2019 wasn’t a great season for Allison considering he only collected 287 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he is still young enough that he could come into his own in his new system.
Allison was one of the key weapons for Aaron Rodgers. In his career going against the Lions, Allison has the second most yards against any opponent, going for 163 and a touchdown in 5 games. Obviously, the Lions won’t miss facing Allison one bit as a competitor.
If he goes on to improve at their expense, it might only serve to fuel the idea that Rodgers is trending in the wrong direction at this point in his career.
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