By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos will be on the lookout for a veteran quarterback this offseason. They would like to bring in competition for Drew Lock to earn the starting position. Two that they may go after are Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford.
Rodgers’ future in Green Bay is unknown at this point after a 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game. According to SI.com, Rodgers said, “A lot of guys futures that are, you know, uncertain, myself included. That’s what’s sad about it most. Just the uncertainties is tough and the finality of it all.”
The Packers could cut him in the offseason. It would amount to $17,204,000 in dead cap space. Rodgers would then be a free agent who could sign with any team.
The reason the Packers may decide to let Rodgers go is they have the quarterback of the future waiting in Jordan Love. He is less expensive than Rodgers at around $2.81 million. The money saved might help the Packers with free agents. The only problem with Love is they don’t know what they have in him. He could be the next Rodgers or he could be a 1st-round bust.
If the Packers decide to let Rodgers go, many teams could be interested in him including the Denver Broncos. Denver has a new General Manager in George Paton who worked for the Minnesota Vikings. He saw Rodgers twice a year since the Vikings are in the NFC North Division with the Packers. He knows what kind of player Rodgers is and may take a chance . Rodgers has proven in the regular season he is a winner with an overall record of 126-63-1. He led the Packers to 10 playoff appearances with 1 Super Bowl win.
The downside with Rodgers is his age. He is 37 and will turn 38 during the 2021 season. He could be too old for the Broncos to take a chance. They should only sign him if the Packers let him go and Denver thinks he is the difference for them. Rodgers may not help the Broncos win more games in 2021.
The other quarterback Denver may think about is Matthew Stafford. The Lions and Stafford will part ways this offseason. The Lions are looking to trade Stafford, but it comes with a high price. They want a first round pick this year and who knows what other draft picks they may want, a steep price for Stafford.
Stafford isn’t a great quarterback like Rodgers. His record is a disappointing 74-90-1 as a starter. The Lions advanced to the playoffs 3 times with him but haven’t won a playoff game. It hasn’t been all his fault with the Lions. Detroit hasn’t built a championship team with him as the quarterback. The Broncos are trying to build a Super Bowl contender.
The biggest difficulty in acquiring Stafford is his cap hit. His hit this year is $33 million and $26 million next year, a lot of money for Denver to take on. If the Broncos deal for him they are going to have to make that cap hit lower and add incentives in his contract for him to earn money back. He makes more sense than Rodgers because he is younger at 32 years old. He has a lot of football left in him.
The Broncos own the 9th pick in the NFL draft. That would be a steep price for them to trade it to the Lions. The only way Denver acquires Stafford is if they think he is the difference in them making the playoffs or watching them at home. He could give Lock a run to earn the starting position.
Denver Broncos’ General Manager George Paton will do what is best for the team deciding which veteran quarterback fits on this team. It might be Rodgers, Stafford, or any other available free agent quarterback. Next year, Paton would like to end the playoff drought for the Broncos. They haven’t made the postseason since they won Super Bowl 50.
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