One of the biggest storylines in the NFL in the offseason was the Packers trading franchise legend and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. The logic was sound: the Packers had grown tired of Rodgers, who was contemplating retirement, and the QB they drafted in the 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Jordan Love, sat behind Rodgers for 3 years. It was time to see what the kid had, once and for all.
It’s safe to say that thus far, the results haven’t been promising. Love has looked lost, particularly in the 1st half of games. The Packers have rough losses to the Raiders and Broncos, two teams that at various points this year have looked like 2 of the worst teams in the league. As the saying goes, everyone loves the backup until he’s no longer the backup. It should be noted that the Packers don’t lack for talent or competent coaching. Christian Watson has emerged as a legitimate wide receiver, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are one of the better running back tandems in the league, the Packers always seem to have a functioning offensive line, and the defense is top notch. Of course, no one was expecting Love to be Aaron Rodgers, but the team hasn’t changed that much from the teams that were back-to-back number 1 seeds in the NFC in 2020 and 2021.
The Packers have to be privately mulling whether they made a mistake or not. It’s easy to say now, but it appeared that all the pressure was on the Jets when this deal went down. Rodgers was 39 at the time of the deal and contemplating retirement. It doesn’t get much more “win now” than that. And when the Packers destroyed the Bears and Rodgers was lost for the year in Week 1, everything looked good for the Packers. But if this Jordan Love experiment doesn’t work, jobs could be on the line. Needless to say, fans won’t be any happier seeing Rodgers in another uniform while the QB they have now holds them back from a playoff spot in a weak conference. If Derek Carr didn’t get hurt late in the game against the Packers, the Packers are likely 1-5 and done right now.
There’s still time for Love and the offense to figure it out, but this is uncharted territory for Green Bay. There will be a lot of consternation and discussions happening before the game against the Vikings this weekend.