The free agency market for 41-year-old NFL players is usually not good. However, it’s not often that the 41-year-old is a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
So, when former Packer and now former Jet Aaron Rodgers officially hits the market, he will have some suitors regardless of how much grey is in that beard. Didn’t the Jets have a bad year last year? Isn’t Rodgers washed?
Maybe, but the Jets have a terrible year pretty much every year; some of that is on Rodgers, but not all of it. True, Rodgers began the year rough, real rough. Still, as the year wore on, he got better. The old Aaron Rodgers is gone, but the ghost of A-Rod remains, and he might still help someone if he is in the right situation.
Here are the three best places he could land.
New York Giants
Rodgers wouldn’t even have to sell his house for this move. The Giants are not a full-on contender at the moment, but Malik Nabers showed flashes of becoming the next great wide receiver in the NFL, and the most accurate passer in NFL history (even an older version of him) could benefit him greatly. The Giants let a great player walk to a division rival last year and then watched him run to a Super Bowl championship. I’m sure the Giants brass would like nothing more than to take a quarterback from their roommates at MetLife Stadium and get their team turned around.
Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen were shockingly not fired at the end of the season. Still, they have to win now, or they will absolutely be fired next year. New York currently possesses the third overall pick and could land Shedeur Sanders of Cam Ward in the draft. However, rookies are hit or miss. A team needing to win immediately might benefit more from using that draft pick to fill one of their many needs and handing the reigns to a veteran quarterback.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Unlike the Giants, the Steelers are in a far better position to contend, especially if they get a strong, veteran quarterback. Neither Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields is the future of that team. Rodgers wouldn’t be either, but he would be an upgrade that makes a lot of sense. Pittsburgh could still spend their first or second-round pick on a player with high upside who wouldn’t have to play year one, and spending a year behind Rodgers could be a big benefit.
One possible sticking point could be Steelers receiver George Pickens, who, despite his fantastic ability, is a complete head case. If choosing between the Giants and Steelers, Rodgers may opt for the seemingly more sane Nabers. Who knows, though? Unlike the Jets, the Steelers are a well-run franchise, similar to the Packers. Rodgers may decide having sane people in charge makes Pickens and his antics worth it.
Minnesota Vikings
Here’s where we enter the Twilight Zone. If Rodgers goes to the Vikings, he will have traveled the same Green Bay to New York to Minnesota path his predecessor Brett Favre traveled years ago.
Would that be a good move?
The Vikings are by far the best team on this list and the most ready to make a deep Super Bowl run. Rodgers would have a great coach, arguably the best wide receiver in the game, a stout line and run game, everything. So, would the Vikings make a move for Rodgers?
It’s unlikely.
The Vikings like J.J. McCarthy a lot. Remember, McCarthy was pushing Darnold for the starting job before his injury that sidelined his rookie season. With Darnold out of the way, Minnesota is more likely to put their faith in the player they spent a first-round pick on instead of bringing in a former hated rival looking to end his career.
All this assumes Rodgers still loves football and wants to play. Only he knows the answer to that question. Here’s one thing I feel very comfortable saying, however: Aaron Rodgers does not want his career to end the way it ended in New York.
