Getty Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers pitches the ball during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 1, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)
The trade pool for controversial Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers just got smaller by one team.
The Las Vegas Raiders were considered prime contenders to deal for Rodgers this offseason, and were even dubbed the odds-on favorite as his next team as recently as last weekend. But all that changed on Thursday when the Raiders apparently pulled themselves out of the Rodgers trade conversation.
Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported the positions of Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels on March 2.
“Ziegler and McDaniels have apparently agreed that the Raiders won’t be in on the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes, if the quarterback does decide he does not want to return to the Packers,” Tafur wrote. “The Raiders just have too many holes on their roster to trade high draft picks for a 39-year-old quarterback, and there appear to other teams like the [New York] Jets that would.”
Raiders’ Exit From Trade Talks is Blow to Both Rodgers and Packers
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers walks to the line of scrimmage during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 1, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
If Rodgers retires, the Raiders’ disinterest in him doesn’t matter. He rides off into an eccentric, post-NFL sunset and the Packers are entirely off the hook. But if he comes back, Thursday’s news is bad for both parties.
Getting any deal done is going to require cooperation between Rodgers and the Green Bay front office, which means the quarterback’s preferences will matter. Las Vegas was suspected among Rodgers’ top destinations because of its location in a warm-weather city/big market as well as the level of skill talent on the roster, which includes the best wide receiver Rodgers has ever played with in Davante Adams.
Adams also stumped publicly for the addition of Rodgers after the Raiders released the wideout’s long-time friend and collegiate teammate Derek Carr.
Las Vegas made sense as a trade partner for the Packers as well — an AFC team with whom Green Bay made a major trade (Adams in exchange for a first-round and a second-round pick) just one year ago. The Raiders’ absence from the Rodgers trade talks will impact the Packers’ leverage by removing a bidder from the equation, which will presumably drive down the price they can get for the quarterback.
The situation could get even worse if the Jets bow out to sign Carr after two successful meetings with the ex-Raiders quarterback since his release.
Packers Likely to Find Trade Partner For Rodgers, Even if Jets Join Raiders
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers warms up prior to a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 1, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)
Even if the worst happens, and the Jets join the Raiders in a shared disinterest in Rodgers, there is still a sunny side to the situation.
For all the talk of Rodgers’ decline last season, he still completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, posting a quarterback rating of 91.1, per Pro Football Reference. He also graded out with an overall rating of 77.5, per the advanced analytics formula of Pro Football Focus, which was good enough to slot him 14th among 39 quarterbacks who qualified in 2022.
Rodgers produced that season — as well as a four-game win streak that fell one possession shy of five victories to cap what would have been an improbable Wildcard Playoff run — despite lacking a true No. 1 wide receiver all year. The two seasons prior, with Adams on the roster, Rodgers won back-to-back MVP Awards.
All of that is to say that there will still be multiple teams interested in trading for Rodgers, even at 39 years old, even coming off of a statistically down season. The Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans are both reasonable landing spots and should have interest, while longer shots include the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to their potential to compete with the Packers for postseason position and wins.
The Packers also appear determined to deal Rodgers, even if the return isn’t exactly what they’d like or feel they deserve. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst refused to commit to a reunion with Rodgers during a media session at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, saying about Rodgers that “… we need to have some of those conversations about our team, where it’s going, where he’s at before we go forward.”