He quit on Green Bay so that's their problem. Clearly they had more than even of his act. He's the Jets "problem" now but I think he's worth the risk of the downside because the upside is a return to MVP form and a deep playoff run. I think Rodgers would have worked in New England with Belichick for a couple of seasons, which pretty much gets Belichick to the finish line where possibly he can go out with a contending team. I don't like Rodgers, and it's no secret I'm not at all in the IBWT camp, however they're probably a good fit for the end of their careers. So yes, I would have wanted to see it happen. Although, I would have gone after Lamar first (and murdered anyone who stood in the way of it happening). Alternatively, I also would have taken a look at Carr and even Garoppolo. I'll give Belichick a chance with Mac Jones but only if he lands Hopkins and the defense is solidly top 10 (so better than last season)... otherwise I see more 8-win seasons upcoming.
For the Jets he's the perfect fit. They have a good roster on both sides of the ball and no QB. However the cap will make their window pretty short, especially when all the dead Rodgers money starts to hit and they have to start to sign some of their good young players. I'd give it 2 years at the most (assuming Rodgers stays that long.)
Would Rodgers have worked here? There we disagree. Of COURSE he'd be the better short term QB even at 42. But where we really disagree is would Bill have selfishly mortgage the long term success of the team with that Rodgers' contract just to win a few more games than Shula. I don't believe THAT for a second. In all this time in NE, has Bill EVER made it all about him. Whenever Bill does leave, he will want to leave the team better than he found it. If he falls short of Shula he will be disappointed I guess, but but it won't make him miss a minute of sleep. Shula on the other hand would make this deal in a nanosecond and STILL not get it done. Shula had the best QB in the league for over a decade and had just ONE appearance in a superbowl, and that IIRC was in Marino's first or 2nd year. **** him. But my disdain for Shula makes it more likely that I want Bill to go by him, than he does.
Getting back to the point, in this age of cap manipulation it STILL exists and CAN affects rosters.and the adage that "every dollar you give player A there is one less dollar for everyone else." still holds. So sure we could figure out how we can add Rodgers' $110 Million 2 year contract (he will have a $107MM cap hit next year) but at what cost. How many good players would we have to let go over those 2 years to make that happen. THAT is why the Pats would never be in the picture for this kind of trade REGARDLESS of Rodgers' talent.
As for the others. Jimmy is EXACTLY the guy who WOULD make the most sense. He has a great winning percentage in game that he PLAYS. And that is the rub. You cannot count on him. It is a real shame. He was a great pick at the time and if Brady had aged like 99% of NFL QB's he's still be here entering his 5th year as our starter. But while Jimmy was very good, Brady was the GOAT and continued to BE the goat. BB plays the best guy and Brady WAS the best guy and Jimmy was gone for a top 40 pick before he walked for nothing.
I STILL don't see Lamar. Love the talent, but I want to see it produce more than ONE playoff win before I buy in. Great talent, LOVE watching him, but is it sustainable. It certainly HASN'T been in Baltimore. Carr??? Carr has the talent, but is he mentally tough enough to consistently win? He hasn't so far and he's been around for almost a decade. So that's a no imo.
I'll be happy if we get Hopkins, though I still don't see how it makes us THAT much better. I'd also be happy with Cook at a third the Price. Either would make the offense better. Simply put Hopkins would make it more effective, Cooks would make it more explosive. What I will find interesting is what this team looks like with next year with all that cap space. Regardless of the record, 4 wins or 12, imo this is the year where you find out where the needs of your team lies, and the next 2 years are when you fill them because you CAN.
