If an internet rumor, and it is just a rumor, has any legs, the quarterback of the top-seeded NFC team that lost in the second round of this season’s NFL playoffs is interested in joining the top-seeded AFC team that also lost in the second round of the NFL playoffs.
Per Jared Stillman, a reporter at ESPN Nashville 102.5 The Game, Aaron Rodgers could have his sights set on moving to a team in the AFC — and it isn’t the Denver Broncos.
“Sources: Aaron Rodgers has purchased land and is in the process of building a home in the Nashville-suburb of Franklin,” Stillman wrote on Twitter. “Also, a source says Rodgers is ‘open’ to joining the Titans. Another source says that current Packers teammates do not expect Rodgers back in GB.”
With a good defense, plenty of weapons on offense including all-world running back Derrick Henry as well as strong receivers in A.J. Brown and Julio Jones all under the leadership of head coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans are the definition of being a quarterback away from really competing as current starter Ryan Tannehill has proven time and again that he’s competent but far from a winner. A swap of Rodgers and Tannehill would give the Titans what they need to compete in the playoffs with top-tier AFC teams like the Chiefs, Bills and Bengals that have franchise QBs.
Last offseason, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell proposed a potential trade the Packers could make with the Titans that would get Rodgers to Nashville. In exchange for the future Hall-of-Famer and a 2023 fourth-round pick, the Titans would send Green Bay Tannehill and first-round picks in the 2022 and 2023 NFL Draft.
“If there’s a scenario in which the Packers want to trade Rodgers and get the best possible veteran quarterback they can as part of the return, this swap makes sense,” Barnwell wrote in May. “Tannehill, who is five years younger, was also running a similar offense in Tennessee to what the Packers use under former Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, so he’s as close to a plug-and-play replacement as possible. For the Titans, this would be a move to get over the hump. Tannehill has been an incredible surprise since joining the organization as part of a salary dump with Miami, but his playoff performances haven’t been overwhelming. We know Rodgers has that in him. This would be a two- or three-year window to try to win with Rodgers and Henry as a devastating one-two punch on offense.”
Of course, Rodgers and Green Bay running back Aaron Jones, not to mention stud wide receiver Davante Adams, should have been a pretty brutal one-two-three punch on offense for the Packers and they scored a measly 10 points against the 49ers at home in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Still, if there’s a deal to be made to land Rodgers, Tennessee should make it without hesitation.
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