A final verdict in the Aaron Rodgers trial has to come sooner or later. If Rodgers ends up on the Denver Broncos, what should happen with quarterback Drew Lock?
As we get closer to June 2nd — where the time for an Aaron Rodgers’ trade makes the most sense — Drew Lock and his future in Denver become more and more uncertain.
If the Denver Broncos were to trade for Aaron Rodgers, the Packers would need one of George Paton’s quarterbacks in the trade, and the only one that makes sense is Teddy Bridgewater, as he would theoretically serve as a high-quality backup and insurance for presumed starter Jordan Love.
Including Drew Lock in an Aaron Rodgers trade makes no sense for either party at all. Lock hasn’t shown that we can even be a high-quality backup, let alone starter, and wouldn’t provide a failsafe for the Packers if Love isn’t quite ready.
The best scenario for Drew Lock would be to sit behind Aaron Rodgers and watch the 3-time NFL MVP work his magic.
Benjamin Allbright has said that the plan for Drew Lock if the Denver Broncos would have been able to land Matthew Stafford would have been to sit him behind the now Rams QB for a few years and assess where each QB was after that time period.
Lock is a young QB who still has a ton of upside, and one of the best things for his development would be to ‘sit and watch’ under a high-quality QB, and the only one that has trade rumors at this time is Aaron Rodgers.
Here’s the thing, though. Aaron Rodgers, at age 37, just put together one of the best seasons for a quarterback in NFL history. He has shown no signs of slowing down or that he actually wants or wanted a longer contractual commitment from the Packers.
Rodgers wasn’t a fan of them drafting Jordan Love last year, and part of his argument is that he wants the franchise to show that they are still committed to the signal-caller even after drafting a first round quarterback, so it makes sense to think Rodgers can play another three years at least, right?
As it stands right now, Rodgers is under contract through the 2023 season, which would be three more years, but, what if Rodgers continues to play at a high level, and wants a new contract from the Denver Broncos?
What if the Broncos have no choice but to extend him another year or two?
Tom Brady just won a Super Bowl at 43, and doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon, it seems.
Is it possible that Aaron Rodgers wants to play into his 40s? I certainly think it is.
Here’s the other thing. Drew Lock will be 25 in November and would be pushing 30 by the time Aaron Rodgers’ tenure in Denver would be over.
Would the Broncos actually hold onto Drew Lock that long? What if Lock wants to start sooner, and what if he thinks he’s more than ready to lead the time even if Rodgers is still playing well?
Obviously, you only get one NFL career, so, from Lock’s perspective, he could potentially think that he only needs a year sitting behind A-Rod before he feels comfortable to lead a franchise, and Rodgers surely wouldn’t be a fan of that.
From Lock’s perspective, sitting behind Rodgers for 3-5 years may hurt his chances at leading a franchise and can greatly diminish his financial earning potential as well, and for that reason, he may ask for a trade to a different team.
On the flip side, would Rodgers react negatively to the Broncos drafting his successor if Lock is moved?
I would think no, especially if the Broncos had the wherewithal to tell him that they are drafting his successor. After all, that is a huge reason he is mad in Green Bay.
Over the past few days, we’ve learned that the Bucs let Tom Brady know that they may be drafting a QB, the Bears apparently let Andy freaking Dalton know, and the Vikings let Kirk Cousins know.
This is a hard scenario to work through because there are strong arguments for and against keeping Lock as QB2 during a potential Rodgers era in Denver.
Denver Broncos 2021 draft: Analyzing instant impact for every pick
The Denver Broncos brought in 10 players through the 2021 NFL Draft. What will be the instant impact from each selection this season?
So, Broncos Country, what do you think? Should the Broncos keep Lock around if they traded for Aaron Rodgers?