Getty QB Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.
Technically, Aaron Rodgers started it. The Green Bay Packers quarterback set the media abuzz with his latest postgame sentiments after his team’s loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. After losing the NFC Championship game for the second straight season, Rodgers lamented on his future, and his comments left many fans and analysts a tad confused.
“I don’t know,” Rodgers said when he was asked about his future, via CBS Sports. “I really don’t know. There’s a lot of unknowns going into this offseason now. I’m gonna have to take some time away, for sure, and just clear my head and just kinda see what’s going on with everything. It’s pretty tough right now, especially thinking about the guys that may or may not be here next year. … A lot of guys’ … futures are uncertain, myself included. That’s what’s sad about it, getting this far. … The uncertainties is tough, the finality of it all.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and President and CEO Mark Murphy have both insisted they want to keep the 37-year-old quarterback around for as long as possible, and who can blame them? But Rodgers’ words still left many fans and analysts wondering what it all could mean.
With all the talk swirling around the future of Rodgers, trade scenarios were bound to pop up — and one of the more surprising ones involves Green Bay shipping 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love to … the Chicago Bears?
Follow the Heavy on Bears Facebook page, where you can weigh in on all the latest Bears-related breaking news, rumors, content and more!
Could Packers Trade Away Jordan Love Already?
Max Staley of FanDuel threw a wild trade proposal involving the Bears shipping presumed draft capital to Green Bay in exchange for Love, who did not play a snap during his rookie season. The move would be an insurance policy of sorts for Rodgers, Staley thinks, a way for the Pack to let the veteran know he’s still their guy for the next several years, at least.
Here’s what Staley suggested:
Green Bay trading Love to its arch-nemesis might not sit well with the Packers’ faithful, but it’d be a whole lot easier to stomach than losing Rodgers. From the Chicago Bears’ perspective, this deal makes a ton of sense. The Bears are reportedly hoping to be heavily involved in the QB carousel this offseason, but they don’t have the cap space to pick up a stud passer and their draft pick (No. 20) isn’t high enough to land a prized rookie. In terms of raw talent, Love is probably the most-talented signal-caller Chicago would have a semi-realistic shot to land this offseason.
Yeah — gonna have to strongly disagree, particularly with that last bit. The Bears have vowed to go all-in when it comes to the quarterback position this offseason, and with jobs potentially on the line, they may actually try to do more than acquire a guy like Mike Glennon.
It’s also highly unlikely the Packers would ship Love anywhere at all, particularly to their primary divisional rivals. No, this deal would never happen — but it may give fans of both teams a good chuckle.
The Packers selected Love with their first pick last year (26th overall) — a selection Rodgers admitted he wasn’t thrilled about. In his three seasons at Utah State, Love completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 8,600 yards, 60 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback also ran for 403 yards and nine scores in that span. He’s a developmental player, to be sure, but Green Bay didn’t trade up to acquire him only to ship him off a year later.
Rodgers Has Since Expressed a Desire to Stay in Green Bay — Sort Of
In his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers was asked about his future in Green Bay once again, and he said this, via Pro Football Talk: “After the season that I had, potentially winning MVP, and we obviously made another good run, I don’t think that there’s any reason why I wouldn’t be back.”
He then followed it up with this: “But there’s not many absolutes, as you guys know, in this business.”
Thus, the drama surrounding the Packers quarterback situation will likely continue, as will the drama in Chicago, where the team is expected to move on from Mitch Trubisky. Regardless of all the noise, though, things should be set in Green Bay, and Rodgers won’t be going anywhere, barring a miracle. For the Bears, however, the quarterback carousel will keep on spinning — just don’t expect Jordan Love to be a part of the conversation.
READ NEXT: Bears QB Mitch Trubisky Gets Engaged to Longtime Girlfriend: [LOOK]