ESPN Proposes Bold Move for Packers: Trade Aaron Rodgers

ESPN came up with bold, out-of-the-box moves for all 32 NFL teams, and the bold move proposed for the Green Bay Packers was to trade former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Fitting into that plan is the site's bold proposal for the Denver Broncos to trade for Rodgers

All indications are that Rodgers will opt to stay with the Packers for 2022, but he still has yet to announce whether he wants to remain in Green Bay, request a trade or retire from football. A decision is expected any day now, but fans are getting itchy for a response from Rodgers, who won his fourth MVP award this season at the age of 37.

In the meantime, ESPN offers some pretty good logic as to why the Packers might want to consider trading their star, even though Packer officials have stated again and again they will do everything they can to keep him.

There's debate about whether the Packers would trade Rodgers if he requested a trade, but that's not part of the ESPN reasoning, which is laid out here:

Trade Aaron Rodgers.

Whether the Packers even have a choice here is up for debate, but pulling the trigger on a Rodgers trade would qualify as a bold move, regardless of the situation. At this point, allowing Rodgers to play elsewhere is a culmination of two storylines. One, the Jordan Love bill is finally due. The Packers made their bed two years ago by drafting Love and upsetting Rodgers.

Second, 2021 was supposed to be the Packers' year. It was Rodgers and Davante Adams' self-proclaimed "Last Dance." Considering all of the team's impending free agents and its cap-space situation, it would take a miracle for the 2022 roster to be up to par with the 2021 roster -- a roster that still fell short of the NFC Championship Game. Rodgers was already disgruntled playing the 2021 season, and it's tough to imagine he would be willing to do that again with a theoretically weaker roster. It's time for the Packers to move on to the next era and build for the future, and Rodgers would earn them a huge return.

When it came to an out-of-the-box proposal for the Broncos, ESPN suggested they trade for Rodgers, which was a hot topic when the Broncos hired Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their head coach. Here's what ESPN said about its proposal for Denver:

Trade for Aaron Rodgers.

What were you expecting: something about a long snapper?

Rodgers to the Broncos has been a staple of speculative NFL fanfic since last offseason. It's even more popular now, for lots of reasons most fans can recite by heart:

--The Broncos have needed a quarterback since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 Super Bowl season.

--New Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was Rodgers' offensive coordinator in Green Bay.

--The salary-cap economics are plausible, especially if Rodgers agrees to an extension that pushes the biggest cap numbers into 2023 and beyond.

--The trade parameters are also plausible: The Broncos could package the No. 9 pick with some blue-chip youngsters (Bradley Chubb, Noah Fant) and a big bouquet of future picks. Teams with extra first-round picks like the Giants or Jets could potentially act as middle men.

--John Elway, no longer Broncos general manager but still an important figure in the organization, can both broker the trade and keep Rodgers less than fully dissatisfied during his time in Denver.

--A Rodgers-led Broncos team would, on paper, prove a worthy match for the Chiefs, Bills or Bengals.

The best reason of all for the Broncos to ardently pursue Rodgers is because no other options are all that appealing. Wilson or Watson? Sure, but the Broncos have an "in" with Rodgers because of Hackett. Draft a quarterback with the ninth pick? Heck, the Broncos might be better off giving Drew Lock another shot. Select from the Jimmy Garoppolo/Carson Wentz tier? That's precisely what the Broncos have done with Case Keenum/Joe Flacco/Teddy Bridgewater types for too long. Bide their time until a better alternative materializes? The Broncos have been biding their time for seven years, and the team's nucleus is entering its prime.

Sometimes the boldest move is the best move. Sometimes it's practically the only move worth making. The Broncos must either make a bid for Rodgers or settle for watching the Chiefs, Bills and others duke it out above them for years to come.

Rodgers is expected to make a decision within the next week or two so the Packers can address their many other roster concerns. GM Brian Gutekunst has said the Rodgers' issue must be settled before the Packers can't deal with other roster issues, but the Packers have already restructured the contracts of David Bakhtiari, Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones to help their salary-cap problems. Rodgers may want to know Davante Adams' status for next season before he decides, and Adams is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason.

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport