Aaron Rodgers trade would ruin highly anticipated Chiefs-Packers game
By Matt Conner
When the NFL decided to add a 17th game to the regular season schedule of every franchise this fall, it just so happened that the addition brought forth perhaps the single most anticipated game of the year. That’s because, by whatever methods were used to decide how the schedule would shape up at first, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs were placed on each other’s slates. Suddenly the NFL had a marquee matchup of the top two quarterbacks in the game today.
While no one is exactly sure when the Packers will visit Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs just yet—whether it will be a season-opening contest in Week 1 or a mid-season showdown for an inevitable ratings boom for someone, it’s also entirely possible that the game will fail to live up to its billing after all. That’s because the Packers might end up trading away one of two household names involved in the contest.
The as-yet-unscheduled meeting between Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes is already being hailed as the game of the year several months before the season will even begin. But what if the Packers end up trading Rodgers away as rumored?
Shortly before the 2021 NFL Draft began just over a week ago, news broke from several sources that Aaron Rodgers was on the outs in Green Bay. Specifically those stories parroted rumors that Rodgers was very unhappy with the Packers and that he was done with his time there. Per reports, he was hoping to work out a trade to another team—perhaps the San Francisco 49ers or Denver Broncos—but of course nothing official happened and the entire draft came and went.
The Aaron Rodgers trade rumors could ruin the NFL’s most anticipated game of 2021.
At this point, Green Bay has stated they have no plans to trade Rodgers, and the reigning NFL MVP has fired back with insults at general manager Brian Gutekunst. However, former Packers like James Jones and John Kuhn have spoken with reporters giving potential ways in which bridges could be built. All of this is conjecture at this point, but the Packers would be foolish for ever trading away one of the NFL’s best two quarterbacks.
Back to the game. If Rodgers were traded, then Green Bay becomes a not-so-fearsome opponent making their way to Arrowhead to try to slow the Super Bowl momentum of the Chiefs. Jordan Love would present an X-factor as a likely first-year starter, and the Chiefs would probably breathe a bit easier knowing the sledding won’t be so tough without Rodgers in town.
The flip side is if Rodgers found his way to Denver somehow. While the Broncos have other roster concerns (and would create more by trading for Rodgers), an elite quarterback can make up for a multitude of issues and Rodgers is one such player. At that point, the NFL would actually have two such marquee matchups on the calendar given the way divisional games are scheduled.
At this point, it’s unknown what will happen with Rodgers and how that will affect the schedule, but it should be clear the league is very concerned about where Rodgers will be playing in 2021. He’s a superstar in America’s most popular sport which means millions of dollars ride on the decisions made concerning his media exposure. Pitting him against Mahomes is good for the league in more ways than one, which is why everyone will be watching to see if these anticipated games will happen as hoped.