Cal Sports Report

Report of Aaron Rodgers Purchase Leads to Talk He Could Go to Titans

However, officials of the Tennessee team say they have not considered going after the former Cal star
Jake Curtis|
Report of Aaron Rodgers Purchase Leads to Talk He Could Go to Titans
Report of Aaron Rodgers Purchase Leads to Talk He Could Go to Titans

An intriguing report and a little imagination is all it takes for speculation on a potential big transaction to take shape. Such is the case for former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose uncertain future is tinder for an outbreak of speculation and rumors.

This week the speculation arose from a report by Jared Stillman of 102.5 The Game, who said Rodgers is in the process of purchasing land near Nashville and would be open to joining the Titans.

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It makes some sense if you connect the dots. The Titans landed the No. 1 AFC seed in the playoffs this year, so they certainly have the Super Bowl potential Rodgers would crave. The Titans' biggest shortcoming, at least in the playoffs, was at quarterback.

The Titans scored just 16 points in a 19-16 home loss to the Bengals in Tennessee's opening game of the postseason, and much of the blame was focused on quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw three interceptions and had a poor passer rating of 66.7 for the game.

Rodgers played poorly in the Packers' loss to the 49ers, but you could imagine that a Titans team with a healthy Derrick Henry and Aaron Rodgers still playing at an MVP level would be thinking Super Bowl.

Alas, the speculation may be for naught.

ESPN reported Friday that a Titans team source confirmed that Tennessee doesn't  consider Rodgers to be an option for them at quarterback. They intend to stick with Tannehill.

Titans general manager Jon Robinson was unequivocal about Tannehill's status as Tennessee's quarterback when asked about in Wednesday during Senior Bowl practices.

 "Ryan’s our quarterback," Robinson said, according to AtoZ Sports. "He’s made a lot of plays for us. He’s a great leader. He’s extremely tough. Love what Ryan brings to our football team, love what he stands for. We’re looking forward to him getting back in there, and getting back on track, and keeping this thing rolling."

The Titans certainly need Tannehill to play better, though. His passer rating for 2021 was 89.2, one of the worst in the NFL among starting quarterbacks, behind Jimmy Garoppolo, ex-Cal star Jared Goff and Tua Tagovailoa, among others.

It was a sharp drop from his strong 2019 season, when he led the NFL in passer rating at 117.5.

But the Titans say they still believe in him. He was good enough to earn the Titans the No. 1 AFC seed in the playoffs despite the absence of Henry for most of the season.

The Rodgers-to-Tennessee speculation may not die a quiet death, but at least for now it does not seem like a viable move for Rodgers or the Titans. But be prepared for a series of speculative reports about Rodgers' future until he or a team announces something official.

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Mike DiSisti, USA TODAY Sports

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

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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