New odds indicate favorites to land Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers has not yet committed to returning to play football in 2023. If he does commit to playing in 2023, there is still a question regarding what team he will play for. Rodgers has made it no secret: he wants to retire with the Green Bay Packers. However, he has also made it no secret that he is aware that it may not be possible for him to do so.
On The Pat McAfee Show last week, Rodgers stated that he will not be a part of a rebuild. If he wants to play, but the Packers are in rebuild mode (or want to move onto Jordan Love), Rodgers could be traded. DraftKings has released its odds for what team Aaron Rodgers will play for in 2023, and they are very interesting.
#1. Green Bay Packers (-125)
It really should not be that big of a surprise that the team that is the favorite to secure the services of Aaron Rodgers in 2023 is the team that has him under contract. Of course, Rodgers has stated that if he returns to the Packers, he wants his friends to be back with him. The players he listed are David Bakhtiari, Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan.
All of those players are unrestricted free agents this offseason, except for Bakhtiari who some fans want cut to save money on the salary cap. Will the Packers bring them all back? Of course, there is no way for us to know, but AJ Hawk had some pretty interesting thoughts on it.
This scenario is juicy because the Raiders obtained Davante Adams from the Packers last offseason. The Raiders under-preformed in 2022 and appear ready to move on from Derek Carr as their quarterback. Reuniting Rodgers with Adams is certainly an intriguing thought, not just for Raiders and Packers fans, but for football fans in general. They were incredibly fun to watch.
The question, though, is who the Packers would get back in return. If the decision is made to trade Rodgers, Jordan Love will likely take over as the starter. Green Bay would not want Carr in return.
#3. New York Jets (+750)
The New York Jets are one of the teams that is, literally, just a quarterback away from being a serious contender. The Jets have the draft picks to get a deal done as well.
One Packers insider even suggested that the Packers get Zach Wilson in return as part of the deal and have Love and Wilson compete for the starting job in training camp.
#4. San Francisco 49ers (+1000)
This would be very interesting given Rodgers’ history. For one, the 49ers passed him over in the 2005 draft, selecting Alex Smith with the number one overall pick. Rodgers, who grew up rooting for the 49ers, fell all the way down to the Packers late in the first round. There is also the fact that the 49ers have had Rodgers’ number throughout his career, most recently defeating the Packers in the playoffs last year.
The question is whether the 49ers want to take on the Rodgers salary. They have reached the NFC Championship game with Brock Purdy as their quarterback. If they advance to and, possibly, win the Super Bowl, would they want a new quarterback?
There is also the notion that the Packers may not want to trade Rodgers to another NFC team, especially one that is such a big rival.
#5. New England Patriots (+1200)
The Patriots have Mac Jones entrenched as their quarterback, but for how long? The young quarterback has displayed some maturity issues, clashing with his own teammates on the sideline, and regressed significantly in his sophomore season amid questionable decisions by head coach Bill Belichick.
This scenario is interesting because the Patriots won six Super Bowls with Tom Brady at the helm while Rodgers and the Packers have won just one. Could Rodgers lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl? It is possible, as Rodgers said he believes he can still win MVP if he were in the right situation.
The question is: what is the situation going to be in 2023?
