Report: Broncos Might Make 'Substantial Offer' for Aaron Rodgers After 2021 Season
Hours before the Denver Broncos' first game with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, a new report teased the future acquisition of Bridgewater's replacement.
Some guy named Aaron Rodgers.
"I'm told the Denver Broncos, who would have been interested this past offseason, remain interested and could try to trade for Rodgers — make a substantial offer — after this season," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning. "They have not yet committed to a long-term quarterback."
Rodgers and Denver were tightly connected this offseason, with repeated speculation indicating the 2020 NFL MVP, disgruntled by Green Bay's front-office management, preferred to land in the Mile High City. The blockbuster-that-never-was reached a fever pitch during April's draft — "as close to a done deal as it can be" — but slowly fizzled over the following months, culminating in an assuaged Rodgers returning to Cheesehead Land for one last dance on a renegotiated deal.
Central to those negotiations, the Packers agreed to explore with Rodgers "trade options" following the 2021 campaign, Rapoport reported.
Last month, The MMQB's Peter King dubbed the Broncos the "perfect team" for the future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, among several other expected suitors.
"Denver is such a perfect team for Rodgers in 2022," King wrote. "I’m sure Carolina and Philadelphia and Washington will enter the fray if/when Green Bay trades him, but sending him to the AFC minimizes the rematches which I’m sure the Packers would want to avoid at all costs."
There's some truth in King's opining, as Bridgewater is little more than a temporary stopgap, and the organization all but abandoned hope in now-backup Drew Lock. Depending on how the next 18 weeks shake out — for both sides — Rodgers-to-Denver could continue to grow legs.
Again.
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