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7 Aaron Rodgers replacements if he retires

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Potential Aaron Rodgers replacements in 2022

By: Jake Rajala

The Green Bay Packers three-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers has stated that he is unsure what his future holds after the 2022 playoff loss against the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers mulled about his future in football the last offseason and it appears that “Burning man” Rodgers is on the same trail in the 2022 offseason. Rodgers recently went on to the Pac Macafee show (the show that Kay Adams was recently jealous of) and expressed “One thing I would not do, 100% not do, is retire and then come back a year later”. It’s clear that retiring is an option for Rodgers and if he closes the book on his career, he won’t have a Brett Favre type of comeback.

A-rod could clearly hang up the cleats after being drafted by the Pack in 2005. The Packers QB doesn’t seem like he wants to test the waters with a different team, especially because it doesn’t seem like he will be able to enter a situation similar to what Tom Brady entered in Tampa Bay. Rodgers has enjoyed the first ballot of Hall of Fame career with the Packers and he concluded that he’s on great terms with the Packers.

Here are the impressive highlights of Rodgers’s success in Green Bay below:

* according to Pro Football Reference

  • All Pro in 2011 (14-1 record, 45 passing touchdowns to 9 interceptions)
  • All Pro in 2014 (12-4 record, 38 passing touchdowns to 5 interceptions)
  • All Pro in 2020 (13-3 record, 48 passing touchdowns to 5 interceptions)
  • All Pro in 2021 (13-3 record, 37 passing touchdowns to 7 interceptions)
  • Won Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • MVP of Super Bowl XLV
  • 10 Pro Bowl selections
  • 10th in passing yards of all time
  • fifth in passing touchdowns all time
  • number one in passer rating of all time

So, if Rodgers decides to end a legendary, magic, eccentric, career with the Packers, it’s clear that it will be the end of the road for Rodgers. Meanwhile, a massive question arrives for the Packers in Titletown if Rodgers retires: who will replace Rodgers? Well, I’m going to outline several strong candidates that could potentially replace Rodgers.

  1. Marcus Mariota – Las Vegas Raiders

The Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft and Love has truly shown positive growth. Love showed some potential in preseason games, but he did struggle in a losing effort against the Kansas City Chiefs when called on in 2021. Love threw 3 interceptions to 2 touchdowns while having a 58.1%. Coach Matt LaFleur rightfully stated, “he hasn’t gotten the experience needed. Love has a lot of room for growth”. It appears that Love isn’t quite the heir to Rodgers — despite how textbook it may seem.

I would expect the Packers to obtain a quality free-agent pickup at QB at the moment, while they still have the “project” QB Jordan Love. I don’t foresee LaFleur trading the house for a signal-caller like Matt Corral or Kenny Pickett in the first round. I also don’t expect the Packers to be key contenders in the Russell Wilson sweepstakes. The Saints had a positive outcome from adding free agent Jameis Winston and I could see LaFleur garnering similar success with the addition of Marcus Mariota.

The 28-year-old QB had three straight winning seasons with the Tennessee Titans and assist from Matt LaFleur from 2016, 2017, and 2018. Mariota also flashed a unique skillset with his 4.4 speed combined with stout arm talent. Still, Mariota struggled with his passing inconsistencies, injury issues, and he finally wasn’t doing enough to help the Titans win key games. He wasn’t completely wretched over a long time frame, as he lost his short leash to a talented QB2 in Ryan Tannehill. It’s safe to say that Tanny was the more impressive starter as he led the team to the AFC one seed in 2021.

Mariota went to churn out his passing skillset and pocket awareness as a backup with the Las Vegas Raiders. Mariota is ready to come back stronger and sharper with the Packers. The Packers likely wouldn’t need Mariota to be a Top 12 QB to win the division, as well. The former Oregon Duck Mariota could be a modest, successful dual-threat QB with Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, and he can be the QB to win 10+ games next season and potentially more seasons.

2. Jameis Winston – New Orleans Saints

Jameis Winston should be atop the FA wishlist for Matt LaFleur, but I expect Winston to remain with the Saints organization first and foremost. I’d also believe the Saints would struggle to reel in Russell Wilson without Payton or an offensive guru like Eric Bieniemy. If Winston still doesn’t remain with the New Orleans, then I’d expect LaFleur to be the most aggressive coach to acquire him.

The 2021 Saints starting QB held a 6-2 record while throwing 14 passing touchdowns to 3 interceptions. Winston had big victories against the Packers and Seahawks, while not having an elite WR at his disposal. Winston would be a sure-fire upgrade over almost every QB option, but he would be more expensive. Still, Winston could be a QB that can make the Packers an NFC competitor, especially with the Packers current roster. He has elite arm strength, as he’s led the league in passing touchdowns and passing yards in the regular season in Tampa Bay. The Packers could even add another talented WR to help Winston to reassure the Packers can be Super Bowl contenders in 2022 and years ahead. The Saints QB could even take on a less expensive contract than expected after suffering a season-ending injury in 2021.

If Winston takes the keys to the offense and posts superb success in year one, the NFC North team could look to trade Jordan Love in the near future, as well. The truth is that Winston has a plethora of potential, as he recently turned 28 years old. Winston is truly on the up climb at this point in his career, as he’s more seasoned and motivated.

3. Andy Dalton – Chicago Bears

Andy Dalton was once nicknamed the “Red Rifle” with the Cincinnati Bengals and for good reason. Dalton posted five straight winning seasons with Cincy from 2011 to 2015. Dalton clearly benefited from the elite AJ Green and lost his spark when Green didn’t take over games. Still, the old Chicago QB has a talented arm, lots of experience, and he can be a modest game manager when needed. This is in fact the same QB that the genius Kyle Shanahan wanted in 2021.

Dalton has fallen off a bit of a cliff in recent times. The 34-year-old threw more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (8). Dalton struggled the year prior, too. It was clear that the drop-off in performance from Prescott to himself was significant when Dalton had to fill in the shoes of Prescott in 2020. Dak is an MVP caliber QB to be fair, so it’s not a huge surprise that the current Cowboys QB towers over him. As for a slight excuse with his struggles in Chi-town, Nagy was of course pardoned of his head coaching duties after the 2021-2022 season.

Dalton can have an elite WR1 with Adams in Green Bay. He will have a defense with plenty of firepower that can complement his offense. Dalton could be an Alex Smith-like manager for GB for a year or two, but he doesn’t have the same ceiling as Winston or even Mariota. The Packers will really need Love to be the guy in 2023, or they will have to have the perfect plan for their future QB if they ride with Dalton in 2022.

4. Teddy Bridgewater – Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater has slowly earned more starting QB opportunities after suffering a freak injury with the Minnesota Vikings. Teddy “two gloves” went 5-0 filling in for Drew Brees in 2019 and then Bridgewater recently unveiled a 7-7 record with the Denver Broncos in 2021. He showed modest production before suffering an injury, which was evident with his 18 passing touchdowns (career-high).

Bridgewater does have serious injury issues (only played one full season), so that’s a vital reason why he shouldn’t be a popular candidate to replace Rodgers. The Packers may not want to have an injury-prone QB amid a team that can compete for playoff seeding right now. If the Packers obtain Bridgewater in free agency, they may wish to add another veteran QB for safety measures.

5. Trade for Philadelphia Eagles Gardner Minshew

Gardner Minshew might have the most potential out of any backup QB in the league. “Minshew Mania” was a fantastic rookie for the Jacksonville Jaguars with 21 passing touchdowns to six interceptions. The 25-year-old player was breaking Jaguars records left and right. Unfortunately, Minshew was a victim of a team picking a QB first overall in a draft (2021 draft). It’s no surprise that he wasn’t going to be a good long-term fit in Florida.

The former Jags QB could be shipped out yet again after Nick Sirianni told the QB that there wasn’t any chance he would take the starting job away from Jalen Hurts. It does appear that Hurts will at least be in full command of the ship in 2022 as the team is riding off a surprising playoff berth. LaFleur would have to cough up less magic with trading for Minshew compared to an offer pushing for a QB like Russell Wilson or Baker Mayfield.

6. Tyrod Taylor – Houston Texans

The Texans dual-threat QB Tyrod Taylor was once slated to be the starting QB over Justin Herbert until a medical procedure went haywire and unleashed an unexpected injury to him. Taylor, who is 32 years old, could be an interesting starting option for the Packers. He once showed out two winning seasons in his three seasons as the Bills starting QB. He also made a Pro Bowl in a season as a Bill.

He’s not an excellent pocket passer and he does have injury concerns in his career, but he would be a sharp value pickup. The Packers could sign a veteran like Andy Dalton and Tyrod Taylor to compete for the job.

7. Trade for San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garopollo

I wouldn’t love a trade from Green Bay for Jimmy G. The Packers would have to trade the bank for Jimmy G and I don’t love the situation for Garopollo to succeed. Jimmy has the quality arm talent and he can make accurate throws in big moments, but his consistency is worrisome. Furthermore, he won’t have a friendly Kyle Shanahan to overcome his lack of consistency and Jimmy G also has serious injury habits, too. He’s only played one full season in the league while missing 23 games in a 49ers uniform.

The 49ers veteran QB has had impressive moments, which could garner overhyped praise. The 49ers QB led a game tieing score against the Los Angeles Rams late in the 4th quarter in Week 17. It should still be noted that Jimmy G made a brutal interception in the same game. He was also a non-factor in the pivotal game against the Tennessee Titans earlier in the season. If the 49ers go on to win the Super Bowl, he may grab the attention of a desperate team that buys into the fairy dust circulating around him.

Honorable mentions

Trade for Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa

I believe a trade for Tua Tagovailoa would even be more overrated than a trade for the 49ers highly touted veteran QB. Tua has more potential, but he requires a lot of tweaking as a pocket passer. He has a quality ceiling as a dual-threat QB, but he is still a project as a pocket passer. He does also have injury issues and inconsistencies with his passing skills. Nonetheless, Tua could put up big plays deep down the field with Adams and he can make plays with his leg. He still isn’t ready to be a QB that can consistently unveil game-winning drives and consistently put up big passing numbers. It’s really a high-risk trade, as the Dolphins would require a lot of compensation for the former Alabama QB. If the Packers were somehow able to lower the quota in such a trade for Tua with Love included, then it could be tempting for LaFleur – regardless if he signs Mariota.

Ryan Fitzpatrick – Washington Football Team

The addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick would be beneficial in multiple ways. “Fitzmagic” could be the right mentor for Jordan Love and Fitzmagic could also be a game manager on the field for GB. It wasn’t too long ago that Fitzmagic was making spectacular throws with his helmet being ripped off his face. We’ve seen Love struggle in short-term situations, but we could Fitzpatrick take care of the football and make a few big plays in a game (hopefully against below-average competition).

He knew how to utilize Mike Evans in Tampa and he could surely make splash plays with Adams. The downfall of Fitzmagic is that he’s 39 years old and he’s coming off a season-ending injury. Fitzmagic might be a solid addition if the Packers elect to grab basically any QB, as he should command a veteran minimum contract or a one-year prove-it deal.

Mitchell Trubisky – Buffalo Bills

It would be poetic if the Green Bay Packers lured former Chicago Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky to the depths of Lambeau. The former Bears QB has churned out his skillset and experience behind the AFC mega-arm QB Josh Allen. Trubisky is 27 and he can be a quality backup in this stage in his career. He has a career-winning record (29-21) and he’s been in playoff battles.

Although, his ceiling doesn’t appear to be mouth-watering at this stage in his career. There may be a unique factor that Trubisky has some fire in him to join the Packers and bash on the Bears. Trubisky has a lot of potential compared to other free-agent options, but I could only see LaFleur getting him if he’s unexpectedly available later in the process and the Packers HC sees potential in him as a project QB.

Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers

There’s a double-digit percentage chance that Jordan Love is the Week 1 starting QB. If the Packers add a veteran QB in free agency, it’s possible Love wins the starting competition or the other QB gets injured. Nearly every QB on this list has suffered from an injury and missed games, so it’s very possible that Love starts via injury from the other QB.

Love has a strong familiarity with Packers and Matt LaFleur all in all. Love will need Adams and potentially more talent around him to succeed, nonetheless. If Love is the Day 1 starter, Lafleur will have to take notes from Sean Payton’s notebook with Winston. The Saints head coach had to completely revamp the offensive design when Brees left. LaFleur would really have to ramp up the run game and improve the pass protection with Love at the QB position.

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