Soon-to-be-free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers has two factors regarding his next team. One is obvious. The other becomes a lot fuzzier, and it will limit his options.
First, as Rodgers said, they have to want you. That’s true for any transaction. If the team doesn’t want the player, it’s hard for the player to play for the team.
Second, as Rodgers also said, it needs to be a “good team.” So which teams would qualify?
Several teams are likely if not definitely looking for 2025 starters: The Steelers, Browns, Titans, Raiders, Giants. Which of those is “good”?
The objective assessment is irrelevant. Rodgers’s opinion is the only one that matters.
Of course a “not good” team can become a “good” team if Rodgers plays well. But he didn’t apply that caveat. He said a “good team,” presumably with or without him.
From that list, who’s “good”? The Steelers are the best. They made the playoffs in 2024, without the kind of high-end quarterback performance that Rodgers could provide.
The Titans are in a weak division, and Rodgers could allow them to compete with the Texans for the AFC South title. The issue in Nashville continues to be the presence of 13-year Packers executive Chad Brinker as the latest guy with final say over the football operation. Does he want a Rodgers reunion? Does Rodgers, given his well-documented feelings about the Green Bay front office, want Brinker?
The Browns could be a “good team.” It’s harder to make that argument when their best player wants out, however.
The Giants seemingly need more help than Rodgers could supply to compete with the Eagles, Commanders, and Cowboys.
Other teams are possible. The Vikings would have to decide whether to roll with 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy or roll the dice on a year with Rodgers (which would continue the Brett Favre career arc). The Rams could be interested if they trade Matthew Stafford, even if Stafford is four years younger and currently better. (Both Minnesota and L.A. seemingly fall within the “good” category.)
The Colts could want an in-house alternative to Anthony Richardson. The Saints still haven’t made a firm decision about Derek Carr. The Dolphins need a better backup to Tua Tagovailoa. (That said, having Rodgers around would be less than ideal for Tua.) And the Seahawks could, in theory, decide to shift from Geno Smith to Rodgers. (While G.M. John Schneider worked for the Packers when Rodgers was drafted, coach Mike Macdonald has said repeatedly that Smith is their guy.)
In the end, Rodgers might have to relax his definition of “good team” to be the “best of the not-objectively-good teams that want me.” It still remains to be seen whether anyone will.
Really, there’s a chance that no one does. It’s been more than a week since the Jets announced Rodgers will be released, and there’s yet to be a report regarding any team that intends to pursue him.
We’ll likely find out more next week, when the NFL descends on Indy for the Scouting Combine and Rodgers’s future becomes one of the hottest topics. If teams are interested, someone will say something to someone else at some point.
Until then, there’s no clear reason to think that the first of Rodgers’s two factors will be satisfied.
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