The Aaron Rodgers roller coaster

It was an eventful emotional rollercoaster for Broncos Country and likely the Broncos themselves. While we were all preparing for the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and hoping our preferred prospects would fall to the Broncos, ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a bomb on everyone.

Aaron Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP wants out of Green Bay

Whoa.

There was talk about the 49ers offering their third overall selection for Rodgers and the Packers turning it down. So, it didn’t seem like the Broncos would really factor into this much at all, but the intrigue was there. Aaron Rodgers seems like the type to stick to his guns so seeing how this would all play out and potentially impact the NFL Draft was intriguing. Then things got interesting.

Pro Football Talk reported that Aaron Rodgers's wishlist included the Denver Broncos and his two most likely destinations were between the Broncos and Raiders.

Now we’re talking, but a trade for him seems unlikely right? He’s the reigning NFL MVP and threw for 50 touchdowns this past season. Seems more like a fantasy than a reality, right?

Wrong.

KOA’s Dave Logan tweeted out that a deal between the Broncos and Packers could get done as soon as tonight while KOA’s Benjamin Allbright was tweeting out some cryptic messages pointing to a potential Rodgers trade as well.

This is when the realization that this could actually happen started to hit. Could the Broncos actually trade for Aaron Rodgers? Basically, a repeat of the Peyton Manning signing? This would be a slam dunk start for newly hired General Manager George Paton.

Then, former Denver Broncos Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman Mark Schlereth sent Broncos Country into a frenzy. He tweeted out that the Aaron Rodgers deal is “as close to a done deal as it can be”.

Holy shit, this is happening!!

Then, the rug was quickly pulled out right from under us. Multiple reporters including 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis reported that the Broncos and Packers haven’t had any talks and that the Broncos are moving forward with their draft plans.

WHAT??

I had hopes that the Broncos would trade back and acquire more picks to trade to the Packers for Rodgers or that they would just draft Justin Fields. Neither of those things happened and the Broncos selected Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II with their 9th overall selection.

Suddenly, the Broncos went from potentially Justin Fields or Trey Lance to Aaron freakin Rodgers back to Justin Fields to Bridgewater/Lock. It was a deflating moment within Broncos Country.

While Surtain II is a damn good pick, much of Broncos Country was left befuddled about the Broncos' lack of anything at the quarterback position. The Rodgers trade apparently fell through, they passed on Fields and Mac Jones, both of whom we were told they liked leading up to the draft. Was Teddy Bridgewater really the best we are going to do??

It sure seemed like it.

However, some hope was given after the first round concluded.

Here’s why anyone who wants Rodgers shouldn’t lose hope. The Packers don’t really want to trade him, but Aaron Rodgers most likely isn’t changing his mind about something like this. Also, with the limitations of an AFC team on the west coast, it really only leaves the Broncos and Raiders as preferred options and it sounds like Rodgers prefers the Broncos.

Also, the dead money is something to keep an eye on. After June 1st, Rodgers's dead money hit goes down from nearly $32 million to $14 million dollars in 2021 and $17 million in 2022. That still stings, but not nearly as bad.

Obviously, the Packers want Rodgers to stay and that’s why they once again went on the record saying they won’t trade him, but the deal apparently isn’t dead. Not yet at least.

So let’s have some faith and patience and continue to ride this rollercoaster. We will likely find out more about this today and could know more by the time this is posted.

The Broncos are never boring, always have drama, and have plenty of twists and turns before coming to a conclusion. I believe we’ll have a few more of those before we reach the conclusion of this one.