The Green Bay Packers accomplished most of their mission in 2019. They restructured their roster enough to make the team more balanced and less reliant on Aaron Rodgers. This resulted in a 13-3 record and a trip to the NFC championship. However. hidden beneath the stats there was a genuine belief among many experts that Rodgers wasn’t looking like his old self. There were still moments where he seemed mortal. Sure, he still had those occasional insane throws only he could make. Yet the evidence was there that he was a step slower.
It reflected in his passer rating. The 95.4 is the lowest he’s posted since 2015. He also completed just 62% of his passes, continuing a downward trend that started back in 2016. Rodgers is still really good but he wasn’t at his best when his team needed him to be. This might explain why head coach Matt Lafleur didn’t dismiss the idea of drafting a quarterback this coming April.
Rodgers is 36-years old and will be 37 this December. Right around the same age Brett Favre was when the Packers grabbed him in the 2005 draft. It later came out that Favre didn’t receive that news too well and wasn’t the most welcoming guy to a rookie QB trying to adjust to the NFL. Rodgers suddenly could find himself on the same foot, and he’s not exactly known for being even-keel with his emotions.
Up to this point, Green Bay hasn’t dared make any sort of notable move at quarterback. Sure they’ve occasionally drafted guys with late round picks. They also traded for DeShone Kizer back in 2018. Nobody took those moves seriously as a threat to Rodgers though. Why should they? Try to imagine though if the team decided to spend a Day 2 pick on a young arm. A 2nd or 3rd round choice. That would be the first real sign that the team is thinking about life after him.
Rodgers is a competitor. He thinks he’s the best on the planet at what he does. There is plenty of evidence over the past decade to support this belief. Guys like that don’t just willingly accept young guys being brought in to clearly start challenging for their job. Joe Montana didn’t like it. Favre didn’t like it. Tom Brady didn’t like it. There is no reason to suspect Rodgers will be different.
