Bring Aaron Rodgers to Denver, George Paton — or else
In Broncos Country, we don’t do Plan B
Aaron Rodgers is a whiny, antivaxxing nut job who hasn’t won a championship since the Black Eyed Peas were big enough to perform at halftime of the Super Bowl.
What I’m trying to say is: Rodgers needs the Broncos almost as desperately as the NFL team in our dusty old cowtown needs an elite quarterback.
Get it done, George Paton. Pry Rodgers from Green Bay in a trade … or else the honeymoon phase of your stint as Broncos general manager is over.
Teddy Bridgewater? Doesn’t matter if he can be re-signed as a free agent for $20 million or 20 cents. Don’t. Even. Think. About. It. Teddy B cannot be the starting quarterback in Denver again, under any circumstance.
If Rodgers doesn’t trot into the huddle the next time Denver plays a football game that matters, hiring Nathaniel Hackett as coach and stockpiling draft picks in the midseason trade of linebacker Von Miller was all an elaborate tease.
And if I correctly understand the grumpy emails that announce their presence in my inbox with ALL-CAP anger, the fans of Broncos Country are tired of having the team mess with their bruised emotions.
When last we saw Rodgers, he was doing what he has done best for the past decade: lose the big one. After putting up Star Wars numbers during the regular season, Shailene Woodley’s boyfriend got rudely bounced from the NFL playoffs. Rodgers got eliminated on his home turf in a humbling 1310 defeat against San Francisco, much to the delight of a football universe that he grandiosely thinks is against him.
“There were a ton of people tuning in, rooting against us, for one reason and one reason only,” Rodgers whined to Pat Mcafee on his radio show. “It’s because of my vaccination status, and them wanting to see us lose so they could pile on and enjoy and revel in the fact that my vaccination status was some sort of reason why we haven’t had success in the playoffs.”
Rodgers has more diva tendencies than Tom Brady has championship rings. A-rod is as goofy as a Green Bay winter night is long. In the never-ending nonsense of COVID arguments, however, I’m not going to dismiss Rodgers’ ability to spin a spiral because his medical research is poppycock.
Politicize the quarterback position on your own time. I don’t give a hoot on which side of the red vs. blue divide Rodgers stands so long as he can throw TD passes wearing orange.
But is it fair to mention that since 2011, while the Broncos have a rather meager six playoff victories to their name, Rodgers has won only seven postseason games during the same time frame? And is it rude to wonder why, if Hackett is such an offensive genius, the Packers were limited to a measly touchdown and a
field goal in their loss to the Niners?
It smells like change is in the air in Green Bay, for reasons beyond the salary-cap pickle the Packers find themselves in. After watching Brady find happiness upon leaving New England and Matthew Stafford punching his first ticket to a Super Bowl by forcing a trade from Detroit, top-level NFL quarterbacks have begun to realize they can control their destiny with the same muscle often flexed by NBA superstars.
If a big-time quarterback is going to relocate, I’d wrap the glassware of Russell Wilson and drive the moving van from Seattle to Broncos headquarters, because he’s not only significantly younger than Rodgers but also emotionally more mature and edgier competitively.
But if the Broncos did business to please me, they would’ve drafted Wilson way back in 2012 and let him serve an apprenticeship under Peyton Manning. So what I think, or what Paton proclaims publicly, doesn’t matter nearly as much as the Broncos’ actions. The stockpiling of draft picks and the hiring of Hackett make sense as a way to make Denver an attractive Rodgers destination for both the veteran quarterback and the team that must decide to trade him.
Yes, Rodgers might take home the MVP award for the second straight season. Saying goodbye would cause a tear to be shed by both him and the Packers.
But at 38 years old, the dude is beginning to sound like a grumpy old conspiracy theorist who has forgotten how to win the big one. Rodgers needs to change the narrative or retire from football and go host Jeopardy!
My story, sticking to it: Rodgers needs a fresh start in the fresh mountain air of Colorado almost as desperately as the Broncos need an elite quarterback.
We’re expecting nothing less than Rodgers in a Denver uniform. Get it done, Mr. Paton.
In Broncos Country, there is no Plan B.