Scout says buyer beware on Packers QB

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t gone on his darkness retreat to make his decision yet, but one scout says teams shouldn’t be lining up to trade for the Packers QB.

NFL teams aren’t exactly lining up to trade for Aaron Rodgers… if he even plays in the 2023 season. The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback is set to go on a darkness retreat sometime soon — though he will get prickly about when exactly — to make his decision on whether or not he even wants to play, but the market if he does choose to return is a bit tepid.

As of right now, it seems like it could possibly end up being either the Las Vegas Raiders, the New York Jets or some dark horse we don’t fully know at this point. But if you ask one anonymous longtime NFL scout, they all should be wary about the quarterback they’d actually be getting in the year 2023.

Bill Huber of Fan Nation’s Packer Central spoke to an anonymous top scout for an NFL team and the consensus seemed to be that, though Rodgers isn’t a scrub by any standard, he’s undeniably lost his fastball.

Aaron Rodgers rumors: Scout sees big decline in Packers QB amid trade talk

The scout said the biggest factor was that Rodgers was losing his legs, something now-Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy once warned about, and his ability to move and extend plays has been compromised as a result.

“Because of his play style, it doesn’t lend to the same level of efficiency that (Tom) Brady had once he really couldn’t move anymore,” he said. “Aaron is built on holding the ball and making stuff happen off-schedule. When you can’t move as well, you lose that component.”

That doesn’t speak too highly of a player that the Packers could very well demand a king’s ransom for in any trade. Hell, it doesn’t speak too highly for Green Bay wanting to keep him around either.

Yes, Rodgers is just one year removed from winning back-to-back MVPs. But that was a disappointing year for him and the Packers. The definition of a long year. So now as his future comes into question for another offseason, teams can easily convince themselves that they have a better roster than the Packers to support Rodgers.

However, if this scout isn’t alone in his assessment and, more importantly, isn’t wrong — which he doesn’t appear to be by the eye test — how much should the Raiders, Jets or another franchise be willing to pay to make a trade? It becomes a much dicier proposition given this context.