Time to Trade Aaron

[marklawrence]

We haven't had a good draft for seven years. Our defense is in pieces. Much as we all love Mathews, he's slowing down and not the same guy. We're thin at CB and DE, and only so-so on the DL. We need about three good drafts worth of guys to repair this. I think it's time to face the truth: this team will not win another SB while we're paying Aaron $$$ and drafting in the high 20s. We're at the start of a rebuild, and one pick at #14 is not going to complete a rebuild.

Meanwhile, MN, LA and PH are all SB caliber teams with SB caliber defenses. Honestly they're a step ahead of us, and we're not going to close that gap in the next couple of years. We're languishing in the second tier - GB, Dal, Atl, NO, ?SF. All of us 2nd tier teams can make the post season, all of us are capable of winning any given game, but none of us are going to make the SB anytime soon.

I think we should trade Aaron in a Lawrence Welk trade (anna one, anna two, anna one-two-three). This is what Dallas did in '89, Herschell Walker for a LW trade. It's what we did in '74, except the other way - we gave up two years of draft for John Hadl (heads should have rolled for that) and the result was the Rams were set up for the rest of the decade.

Time to get what we can for Aaron, suck for two or three years, draft high, build a defense, draft a QB in a year or two. We had a beautiful run, we won a couple SBs (should have been four or five, not two - damn Favre for not going to bed before the Denver SB, damn Holmgren for not activating a backup DE behind Gabe Wontkins, and damn McCarthy for not paying attention in the last 4 minutes of the Seattle championship game)

OK, now everyone gets to gang up on me and tell me why I'm a complete idiot.

[ThatGuy284]

No.

Too difficult to do the last part -- character limits (pun intended?)

 

[SSGCujo]

 I totally disagree. When you have a HOF QB you build around him. I trade here, a good draft and a few FAs can fix many issues. Look at the teams that keep chasing a title without a great QB, they're always chasing their tails. Trading Rodgers will bring this team back to the days of Jim DelGazo and John Hadl.

[scoremore]

If we could take Cleveland 2 first rounders and 3 second rounders would have to think about this strategy.  I agree with you for the most part.  It is going to be very hard to win another championship with the current team.  It would have to be one hell of a deal in order to trade Aaron away.  The only problem is trying to find another franchise QB.  Could take years.

If I was the GM would not give Aaron a new deal.  Would ride him for 2 years and then franchise him.  At that point trade him away and start the rebuilding process.  Would at least give us a shot over 2 years.  During that time draft a few QB's and see if we can find the next franchise guy.

It's not a totally crazy notion.  Especially with the money being thrown at QB's right now.  We would be in a position to command some serious capital.  We have nothing behind him.  Why I wouldn't do it now.

[claymaker]

OK, now everyone gets to gang up on me and tell me why I'm a complete idiot.

It'd be interesting to see the Packers be bad in my lifetime. I think I've seen like 2 losing seasons?

The problem is finding a QB. It's not just about draft picks and building a team. You gotta have a QB.

It's tough to part with a talent like Rodgers. You'll never catch lightning in a bottle like that again. I'm fairly certain we won't see any real special talent at the QB position for a while. Moving on from Favre was easy enough because they knew what they had in Rodgers, but that situation likely won't present itself again.

[ricky]

Yep. All the other teams are great and the Packers are crap. Yep. Trade Rodgers for some draft picks, at least half of which would be total washouts. Yep. Go back to the pre-Favre days, when the Packers weren't competitive for years, and were a laughing stock for a long time. Yep. I really want to go back to those good old days of the '70's and '80's. Excellent idea! Sign me up! I'm on board with this! If anyone is too dense to catch my drift, I'll add: 

[craig]

It's a reasonable suggestion, Mark.
1.  Is our supporting cast good enough to support a championship, even if Aaron is terrific?  If not, can some clever D+D and FA-spending get us there?  The hope is yes, and in a league of uncertainty and injury, I'm hopeful that somehow we'll draft smart, be smart in FA-signings, and stay healthy; while perhaps some of your 1st-tier teams will have some challenges (injuries happen....)  Even if I don't objectively expect us to be a SB team this year, the optimist in me will still envision scenarios in which we might get there.....

2.  I wonder what Rodgers would really retrieve in draft picks?  At his age, an at his price, and in this era, I'm not sure it would be as much as 1-1-2-2-3? 

But yeah, you need both a QB and a team. 

[OneTwoSixFive]

OK, now everyone gets to gang up on me and tell me why I'm a complete idiot.

As Hogey said in 200AD..........."Yup". We're not playing Madden here.

[Payne85]

You answered your own question with your first sentence.  No.  Aaron always gives you a chance to win.....it would help if our D would improve and get up to being bad instead of turrible.

Payne85

[mzahn]

Heck no! In today's league a team can turn around real quick. I think we have been spoiled by our play of our last two qb's. Chances of us having someone of their caliber again aren't great. Look how many qb's some teams like Chicago have gone through.

[big ror]

You're an idiot.

Part of the problem is that there is no way you could get anything commensurate in a trade.  I mean, I wouldn't even take the Browns' entire 2018 draft for Aaron.  I wouldn't take their 2018 and 2019 drafts--not like they would even offer that.  I just don't think there is any offer that is plausible that makes any sense.  Elite QBs are that special.

So in short, you don't trade the most gifted quarterback of all time when he still has the potential to be the best QB in the league for the next six years.

And to put the Packers in any tier seems like a futile endeavor at this stage of the game.  The Packers are in the midst of major change:  they have a new GM, a new DC, and they're re-building the offense from scratch.  We don't know how much Jordy's absence will be felt.  We don't know how well Graham will be integrated into the offense.  We don't know how the DL plays with the addition of Wilkerson and the suspected growth of Clark, Lowry, and Adams.  We don't know what the secondary will look like--or how it will play.  There are a lot of question marks about this team.

That said, there should also be a lot of optimism surrounding this team.  The offensive line, regardless of who lines up at RG, has the ability to be really good.  The running backs are good and deep.  The DL has a chance to be elite. Most importantly, 12 is healthy.

I also disagree with the notion that they haven't had a good draft in seven years.  The 2017 class could be very good.  Outside of the running backs, there wasn't a bunch of accrued snaps, but King, J. Jones, Adams, Biegel, Jones, and Williams all have opportunities to make major impacts in 2018.  This might end up being one of the better drafts Thompson had.

The year prior, the Packers got Clark and Martinez, both of whom are ascending Pro-Bowl caliber starters.  Lowry is also a good player on the come, and I still think Spriggs and/or Murphy end up developing into quality players.  Fackrell and Davis are in line to receive increased opportunities, too.

There is a lot of uncertainty across these two drafts, but there's also a chance that, by season's end, these two draft classes look really, really good.

Aaron covers a lot of warts, but there is more talent on this team than people seem to recognize. 

[marklawrence]

While I disagree with you, I must admit yours is very much the majority opinion.

[scoremore]

You're an idiot.

Part of the problem is that there is no way you could get anything commensurate in a trade.  I mean, I wouldn't even take the Browns' entire 2018 draft for Aaron.  I wouldn't take their 2018 and 2019 drafts--not like they would even offer that.  I just don't think there is any offer that is plausible that makes any sense.  Elite QBs are that special.

So in short, you don't trade the most gifted quarterback of all time when he still has the potential to be the best QB in the league for the next six years.

And to put the Packers in any tier seems like a futile endeavor at this stage of the game.  The Packers are in the midst of major change:  they have a new GM, a new DC, and they're re-building the offense from scratch.  We don't know how much Jordy's absence will be felt.  We don't know how well Graham will be integrated into the offense.  We don't know how the DL plays with the addition of Wilkerson and the suspected growth of Clark, Lowry, and Adams.  We don't know what the secondary will look like--or how it will play.  There are a lot of question marks about this team.

That said, there should also be a lot of optimism surrounding this team.  The offensive line, regardless of who lines up at RG, has the ability to be really good.  The running backs are good and deep.  The DL has a chance to be elite. Most importantly, 12 is healthy.

I also disagree with the notion that they haven't had a good draft in seven years.  The 2017 class could be very good.  Outside of the running backs, there wasn't a bunch of accrued snaps, but King, J. Jones, Adams, Biegel, Jones, and Williams all have opportunities to make major impacts in 2018.  This might end up being one of the better drafts Thompson had.

The year prior, the Packers got Clark and Martinez, both of whom are ascending Pro-Bowl caliber starters.  Lowry is also a good player on the come, and I still think Spriggs and/or Murphy end up developing into quality players.  Fackrell and Davis are in line to receive increased opportunities, too.

There is a lot of uncertainty across these two drafts, but there's also a chance that, by season's end, these two draft classes look really, really good.

Aaron covers a lot of warts, but there is more talent on this team than people seem to recognize.

Glad you are still around Ror.  Is Rodgers healthy?  100% back.  I really don't know.  Haven't seen him play since Carolina.  Commend him for trying to come back but it was early and he wasn't the same.  Only reason for this discussion is the crazy QB contracts floating around.  Main concern is doing a huge contract for Aaron which could cripple the franchise.  Also the trade value is elevated. 

Can you make Aaron the highest paid player in the league and still field a championship roster?  Well that's the question.  I don't think it is possible.  Brady in NE.  Took less than he is worth has 5 rings.

https://overthecap.com/position/quarterback/

Honestly don't know where to rank Aaron until we see him play after the injury.  The Packers probably have a pretty good idea of where he is at.  I would hope anyway.  If he is 100% healthy great.  Still signing him to a multi year contract with a huge portion guaranteed is a risk.  It's not Aaron's fault it's the escalation of QB contracts that is the problem here.  That Cousins deal is really ridiculous. 

Bottom line Aaron isn't going anywhere.  I love him, the fans love him, the Packers love him.  Just hope both sides can come together to do a contract that takes care of Aaron and protects the franchise going forward.  This just became much harder.

ML's point is trading Aaron for an enormous sum and using it to rebuild the roster vs. retaining Aaron and trying to build around him.  For Cleveland's entire draft this year and next well?  That would have me thinking for sure.  Honestly not sure which route would most likely yield a championship.  Probably a horse a piece.  Yes Aaron is an elite player but it takes a team to win a Championship he won't be able to do it alone.

Packers have some talent.  Also a lot of holes.  Hopefully they can be patched up before the start of the season.  I am optimistic with the change in Offensive and Defensive coordinators.  Long overdue and this alone will help tremendously.  We need another Edge, 2 CB's, WR, RG at a minimum.  We'll see what Gute can do.  They do not have a championship roster now.  More work needs to be done.

[OneTwoSixFive]

Can you make Aaron the highest paid player in the league and still field a championship roster?  Well that's the question.  I don't think it is possible.  Brady in NE.  Took less than he is worth has 5 rings.

https://overthecap.com/position/quarterback/

You absolutely can pay top money for a QB and field a Superbowl team. If Rodgers is paid the same % of the cap as he took up in his last deal, he'd get about $32m per year. The Packers survived well enough after his last contract, so no reason to suppose they won't now. even $35m pa is doable. You may not be able to be as free as some other team in veteran free agency, but as you have seen with guys like Peppers, they can still afford a big contract or two, sometimes.

Honestly don't know where to rank Aaron until we see him play after the injury.  The Packers probably have a pretty good idea of where he is at.  I would hope anyway.  If he is 100% healthy great.  Still signing him to a multi year contract with a huge portion guaranteed is a risk.  It's not Aaron's fault it's the escalation of QB contracts that is the problem here.  That Cousins deal is really ridiculous. 

Aaron's injury doesn't worry me one bit, not even a little bit. Collarbone breaks don't tend to be disabling long-term, they are pretty much as strong, when healed, as they were, as long as they heal 'straight' (and you can be certain surgeons made sure Rodgers collarbone was). It's not like (for example) someone having had rotator-cuff injuries, where the arm can then pop out of the socket when hit.

[Hands]

OK Mark you're on! I agree with you on this point for this year only...Green Bay executives are now in charge at Cleveland. They have two high 1st round picks and a bunch of #2s. With those picks and trade of Rodgers, (which they would probably be willing to do with their Green Bay background) you are saying this year is a bust. Those picks should allow you the luxury of adding depth and quality players to your existing roster and adding a QB that can win you a SB with the improved players. Is Darnold the guy or Rosen/??? I don't know, but we have seen good QBs win the SB with a very solid team.

The flip side is that the Patriots have proven you can win a SB if you add enough components to the team and have the guy at QB.

I don't think Gutsey has it in him to do a trade like that. Could you imagine the fans storming the Packer's HQ with pitchforks?