Let the Jordan Love Era Begin
After 18 seasons, including 15 as the starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers will not be wearing a Green Bay Packer uniform. He has been traded to the Jets along with the 15th overall pick and the 170th overall pick. In return, the Packers will get the Jets’ 13th, 42nd, and 207th overall pick. They also get the Jets’ 2nd round pick in 2024, but it could be a 1st round pick if Rodgers plays 65% of their offensive snaps this season. Here is what the whole situation means for the Packers moving forward.
Many of us knew there was something in the air when the Packers traded up in the 1st round in 2020 to select Jordan Love out of Utah State. A year later, reports came out that Rodgers demanded a trade or he would retire. Ultimately, he came back for the 2021 season and won another MVP, just like he did in 2020. The 2022 season saw both Rodgers and the Packers take a step back on the field. He had been linked to the Jets all offseason, and he finally confirmed it on the Pat McAfee Show that his intention was to play for them.
It was rumored that his appearance on the show put a monkey wrench in the talks between the two teams. GM Brian Gutekunst and the rest of the front office were not willing to settle for the lowball offers the Jets were allegedly proposing to them. After weeks of stalled talks and apparently no talks at all, they recently resumed talking to each other, and now we have come to this conclusion.
No matter what you think of Aaron Rodgers personally or even professionally, it’s hard to deny that he was one of the Packers’ all-time great players. Rodgers had added pressure because he was succeeding a Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre. I personally was encouraged when he took over an injured Favre in that Thursday night game at Texas Stadium in 2007 and played very well. If it wasn’t for some defensive breakdowns, he just might have led them to an improbable win over the Cowboys. He had some work to do to win over the fans when Favre retired, but it helped his cause when Favre went over to the rival Vikings. Although Favre and the Vikings came out ahead in the two matchups in 2009, Rodgers and the Packers returned the favor the next year, and they rubbed salt in the Vikings’ wounds by finishing what the Vikings couldn’t do the previous year by winning on the road in the NFC Championship Game, getting to the Super Bowl, and of course winning it.
Rodgers’ legacy will be up for debate. On the one hand, he won a Super Bowl early in his career as a starting quarterback. On the other hand, he has been on the receiving end of some very heartbreaking playoff losses and a number of home losses too. Obviously, it takes the whole team to win or lose, but Rodgers gets a lot of the blame because he is the starting quarterback. He made a career of dominating the Chicago Bears, even more than his predecessor did. He provided countless highlights, winning games that not many expected him to win, and threw a lot of memorable touchdowns, including some of the Hail Mary variety.
Still, it seemed like we could have had a whole lot more. We did get a Super Bowl out of his career, which is more than a whole lot of other teams can say, but when you play for Titletown, our expectations are very high. We can’t place all of the blame on Rodgers though. For much of his career, he had a subpar defense. Some of the blame could also be placed on the front office. Perhaps if they got this or that star player, those close games they lost in the playoffs could have been wins.
A lot of fans have also been turned off by Rodgers and his drama. Maybe he likes to play mind games with the media, but many fans don’t share that joy. They want answers and direct ones at that. They don’t like to be jerked around. Even if their record in the standings takes a hit these next few years, I’m sure many fans will be relieved to at least return to a sense of normalcy.
And now that takes us to Jordan Love. What should we expect from him? It has to be a big weight on his shoulders to follow not one, but two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. If you ask players such as Aaron Jones, he will do just fine. In fact, he is spending some of his time getting acquainted with Jones and some of the younger receivers. That has to be a good thing. Head Coach Matt LaFleur finally has a real chance to implement his style of offense and run the team the way he wants to run it. The players and the front office have voiced their approval of Love, so let’s see what he can do. He doesn’t have to be Favre or Rodgers. He just has to be himself, and he also has no crippling salary that will hinder the team from going after some big-name free agents. Call me crazy, but I am looking forward to seeing what Love and the rest of the team can do this year.
It’s officially the end of an era. We knew this day would come eventually. It just happened to come this year. You never know. We just might make a run and be back on top sooner than you think. A lot of fans around the league (and Packer fans included) thought we would be entering a dark age when Favre left. It didn’t happen. If the players have any say, it won’t happen this time either. They will certainly be motivated to play well and show the whole league that this team is more than just Rodgers. No matter how they finish in the standings, I think they will surprise us and be more competitive than we think. Let’s turn the page and get ready for the Jordan Love Era!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackersFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
