With Tom Brady announcing his retirement on Wednesday, the reigning NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in desperate need of a new signal-caller.
The three-time league MVP had a brief 40-day retirement last year before deciding to return for a 23rd season. But on Wednesday, the 45-year-old announced in a video post on social media that he was retiring for good.
So we know that Brady is retired. Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr will be traded or outright released, allowing him to sign elsewhere. Kyle Shanahan told reporters this week that the team probably won’t bring back Jimmy Garoppolo. Those are two options right there for Tampa.
But what about Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers? The 39-year-old hasn’t yet announced if he’ll play in 2023. Even if he does, the two sides could end up deciding that a divorce is the way to go.
At NFL Analyst Network, Kenneth Teape proposed a huge blockbuster trade idea that would see the Packers send Rodgers to the Buccaneers:
“If Green Bay’s front office and ownership were to make a list of teams they are willing to send Rodgers to, the Buccaneers would almost assuredly not be on it. The Packers don’t want to have to face off against Rodgers and sending him to an AFC team would likely be in their best interest.
To overcome that, Tampa Bay would have to blow the Packers away with an offer. Looking for at least one, if not two first-round picks, the Buccaneers should offer their first-rounder in 2023 and 2024. To put them over the edge, they need to offer a conditional second-round pick in 2025 that will convert to a first-rounder should the Buccaneers and Rodgers attain some incentives.”
Adding Rodgers would unquestionably keep the Bucs’ Super Bowl window wide open for at least a couple of more years. They have a top-10 defense every year under Todd Bowles, for starters. And of course, Rodgers would have two star weapons to throw to in wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
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But the Bucs are in a tough salary cap position, so GM Jason Licht would have to perform a series of gap gymnastics to make it work. And as Teape pointed out, the Pack might prefer to trade Rodgers to an AFC club.
Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how the Rodgers saga plays out this offseason.
