Getty GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 25: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is introduced before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Denver Broncos find themselves at a crossroads of sorts with several enormous decisions for the franchise’s future possibly ahead in 2022.
For starters, they must decide the fate of head coach Vic Fangio, who the team may choose to move on from in favor of new leadership. Also, rumors have swirled about an inevitable sale of the Broncos, possibly involving former Broncos’ MVP QB Peyton Manning.
However, another enormous decision on Denver’s plate has seemingly stared them in the face for years, and that’s adding a franchise quarterback. The buzz around the Broncos adding a quarterback goes back to the offseason, though no big move came throughout the summer, during the season, or before this year’s trade deadline.
The QB buzz has now intensified as the 2021 season nears its end. This has led to growing speculation about possible destinations for available quarterbacks and what a team would have to give up to acquire one.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus laid out realistic trades of several franchise quarterbacks, including a blockbuster sending MVP Aaron Rodgers to the Broncos.
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The Projected Price for Rodgers: 2 1st Round Picks & More
Spielberger’s trade includes a predictable haul of assets heading to the Green Bay Packers. Denver would send 2022 1st and 2nd round picks, along with 2023’s 1st and 3rd round picks, in exchange for Rodgers.
Spielberger says draft picks may not be enough to land the 39-year-old reigning MVP, as Green Bay could desire a player in return as well. He called it a ‘dream scenario’ for Rodgers playing alongside WRs Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, TE Noah Fant and RB Javonte Williams.
He also mentioned that the Packers might be interested in one of the players mentioned above and added OLB Bradley Chubb and DL Dre’Mont Jones as possible Green Bay targets on the defensive side of the ball.
As Spielberger points out, the cost to acquire Rodgers isn’t the only price concerning the Broncos.
“Rodgers will be 39 years old in 2022 and will likely be looking to sign an extension that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback on a per-year basis, which certainly factors into the value of any trade,” Spielberger wrote. “Nevertheless, the Packers have made it abundantly clear they are willing to let Rodgers retire before they accept a bad trade off. So any interested team will still need to pay full price to acquire his services, especially considering the 2020 MVP has a chance to repeat with a strong final month of the season.”
According to Over The Cap, Rodgers’ 2022 salary is $26.9 million. In 2021, Rodgers’ 2018 deal with the Packers (four years, $134 million) was restructured, which included voiding the 2023 year of the contract, making Rodgers a free agent before the beginning of the NFL’s 2023 calendar year.
Currently, three quarterbacks have a higher 2022 base salary than Rodgers, including Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Tannehill ($29 million), Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson ($35 million), and Minnesota Vikings‘ Kirk Cousins ($35 million), per Spotrac.
Broncos Face Uphill Climb to Playoffs
The Broncos have just three games remaining, and they’ll likely need to win every one of them to earn a playoff bid.
Denver’s Week 15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals dropped them down to the bottom of the bubble teams in the AFC; currently, the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and Buffalo Bills occupy the conferences’ three wildcard spots. A look at the AFC’s playoff picture ahead of Week 16’s matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders shows five teams between the Broncos and the Bills, who hold the seventh and final playoff seed. Making things even more difficult for Denver; they don’t have a tie-break advantage over any of them.
After thousands of simulations, a New York Times playoff simulator gives the Broncos a 7% chance at making the postseason.
The simulator allows you to choose winners of specific games over the last three weeks of the season to see how each game impacts playoff percentages for the Broncos. Simulating scenarios for the other still-alive NFL teams are also available.