The suffered a stunning 13-10 defeat to the in the divisional playoff round. As the NFC's No. 1 seed for the second straight season, an early playoff exit wasn't anticipated. With Green Bay's season over, quarterback ' football future moves to the forefront. Rodgers is under contract through the 2022 season after his 2023 contract year was turned into a voiding/dummy
Bobby Cox Jersey year in an effort to end his offseason rift with the Packers, during which he contemplated retirement. "I don't want to be part of a rebuild if I'm going to keep playing," Rodgers said in a postgame se sion with the media. Packers leadership is unanimous in wanting Rodgers to return to Green Bay. Rodgers originally indicated he would make his decision before free agency begins on March 16. He amended his timetable without giving a specific date Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. Rodgers suggested he would decide before the end of the franchise designation period to be sensitive to All-Pro wide receiver ' situation. The 15 day window to designate franchise players runs from Feb. 22 through March 8. Media's Ian Rapoport recently reported that the Packers intend to place a franchise tag on Adams. Rodgers has three choices: return to the Packers, demand a trade or retire. The i sues that made Rodgers disgruntled won't be an impediment to him returning to the Packers. They are in the rear view mirror. A strained relationship with general manager Brian Gutekunst has dramatically improved since last offseason. Green Bay having one of the NFL's most challenging salary cap situations could be a different story. Using NFLPA data, the Packers are $43.97 million over the agreed upon $208.2 million 2022 salary cap ceiling based on offseason accounting rules. Only the top 51 salaries (i.e.; cap numbers) matter
Orlando Cepeda Jersey with these rules. The Packers have 51 players under contract for the 2022 league year. An Adams franchise tag at $20.12 million, which isn't included in the $43.97 million overage, would only compound Green Bay's cap problems. Some salary cap gymnastics with restructuring contracts and releasing players are going to nece sary whether or not Adams is franchised. Rodgers had an interesting response when asked on SiriusXM's The Adam Schein Podcast earlier this month about whether he's thought the gra s might not be greener on the other side. He said, "The gra s is greener where you water it." The Packers would be prohibitive favorites to win a fourth straight NFC North title even with some roster turnover because of free agency and the salary cap. Rodgers playing out the final year of his contract isn't feasible because of Green Bay's salary cap situation and his $46,664,156 cap number in 2022, which is the NFL's second largest. He is scheduled to make to $26,970,588 in 2022 consisting of a $26,470,588 base salary and $500,000 workout bonus. A contract extension where Green Bay gets significant 2022 cap relief would be in order with Rodgers returning. Rodgers reportedly rejected a Packers offer making him the NFL's highest paid player ahead of quarterback ' $45 million per year during last offseason's rift. Since details weren't revealed, it's impo sible to determine how team-friendly this offer was. Presumably, the Packers would still be willing to do same with a somewhat player-friendly structure, considering Rodgers is on the verge of winning back-to-back NFL MVP awards. Rodgers' current contract signed in
Kurt Suzuki Jersey 2018 included a then-record $57.5 million signing bonus. Eclipsing quarterback record-setting $66 million signing bonus might make sense under the circumstances, especially with a willingne s from Rodgers to play well into his 40s as he previously stated on several occasions. The Packers should be able to clear $10 million of 2022 space cap through a market value Rodgers extension. One way this could be done is by is lowering Rodgers' base salary to $1,470,588 while giving him a $75 million signing bonus on a four-year extension. There would be $15 million of new annual signing bonus proration from 2022 through 2026. Rodgers' 2022 cap number would drop from $46,664,156 to $36,664,156 in the proce s. The ideal scenario for Green Bay would be for 38-year-old Rodgers, because of playoff shortcomings in recent years, to follow Drew Brees' path when he was in his late 30s. As a 39 year old, Brees gave the a financial break for the first time in his numerous contract dealings with the franchise in 2018 to try to maximize his opportunity to win a second ring. Brees probably could have become the league's first $30 million per year player had he exploited his leverage by exploring potential options with other teams. Instead, Brees signed a two-year, $50 million contract with $27 million fully guaranteed to remain in New Orleans after limiting negotiations to just the Saints. $25 million per year represented a 3.09% increase over the one-year extension Brees signed in 2016. A new deal would be in the $35 million per year neighborhood with Rodgers, whose lone Super Bowl appearance and win was in the 2010 season, taking a similar approach. The cap relief should be much
Bob Uecker Jersey greater without Rodgers continuing to maximize his earnings because the signing bonus wouldn't need to be as large. The Packers would be reluctantly trading Rodgers since the organizational consensus is to keep him in the fold. A trade might change the calculus with Adams. He's hinted that he would probably want to follow Rodgers out the door. 2020 first round pick doesn't seem nearly as ready to become the starting quarterback as Rodgers was when Hall of Famer Brett Favre was dealt to the in 2008. Franchising Adams with the purpose of trading him would become a viable option. The acquisition cost for Rodgers should be le s than the reported three first round picks and two second round picks the have wanted in exchange for , who is 26, given the 12 year age difference between the two players. Watson is also already under contract through the 2025 season for $136 million, which is an average of $34 million per year. The Packers should be able to get more in return for Rodgers than teams have with Pro
Chipper Jones Jersey Bowl caliber non-quarterbacks in recent years. For example, the Texans gave up a 2020 first round pick (26th overall), a 2021 first round pick (third overall), a 2021 second round pick (36th overall), safety and offensive tackle Julie'n Daveport in exchange for offensive tackle , wide receiver , a 2020 fourth round pick and a 2021 sixth round pick in the days leading up to the start of the 2019 season. The acquiring team would need $26,970,588 of cap space to absorb Rodgers' 2022 salary. The Packers would pick up $19,817,018 of cap space with the trade. There would be $26,847,138 of dead money, which is a salary cap charge for a player no longer on a team's roster. It would come from the $19,173,568 of 2022 bonus proration relating to his $57.5 million signing bonus, the $14.26 million converted into signing bonus during a December 2019 contract restructure