A lot of quarterback smoke surrounding the Arizona Cardinals this offseason centered on prospect Ty Simpson. Now, it’s of the Aaron Rodgers variety.
The veteran remains unsigned following last month’s draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers still feel like the most likely landing spot, though no deal is in place.
That’s left many to speculate where Rodgers could end up outside of Pittsburgh, if not just calling it a career altogether.
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That’s where Arizona comes in.
It’s no shock the Cardinals are a team being floated around. They currently employ Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator in Nathaniel Hackett. And it was clear during Hackett’s introductory press conference just how highly he thinks of Rodgers and the lessons learned from working alongside him.
The brother of one of Rodgers’ Green Bay head coaches holds the same position in Arizona, with Mike LaFleur taking over this offseason.
There’s the fact the Cardinals’ starting quarterback situation remains up in the air. Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne also added to the mix with his social media post on Tuesday.
“@AaronRodgers12 come on, we’re waiting on you,” Bourne said.
Would Rodgers get more butts in the seats? Sure, especially with all the Packers fans who call Arizona home. Getting another chance to see a Green Bay great lace them up might be too good to pass up. He would also give the transplant Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings fans someone to openly cheer against any given Cardinals home game.
The added entertainment value attached to just about every game and press conference throughout 2026 would be there, too.
That, however, is just about where the benefits of bringing him in stop.
In no way should the Cardinals consider a Rodgers pairing.
It would be absolutely counterproductive for where this team stands at quarterback.
Arizona just burned a third-round pick on Carson Beck and must see what it has in the young quarterback before season’s end. That’s not a couple of games, either. There needs to be a solid amount of tape to sift through to properly determine if Beck can be Arizona’s next franchise quarterback or if the Cardinals need to take a first-round swing in 2027.
Signing Rodgers would just about eliminate that thinking. If the veteran is adding another season to his NFL resume, it won’t be as a backup. Any team hitching its wagon to the veteran knows that.
And how much more of an upgrade are we really talking about here?
This isn’t the Rodgers of old. In 16 starts for the Steelers last year, he completed 65.7% of his throws for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
For comparison, Brissett completed 65.1% of his throws for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns to eight picks across 12 starts. From a statistical standpoint, there wasn’t much difference between the two.
Even going the Gardner Minshew route doesn’t feel like that much of a gap given where Rodgers currently stands.
And again, Beck will need to see the field at some point in 2026. Not doing so would be negligent.
So why even consider the move?
Unless general manager Monti Ossenfort believes Rodgers can successfully help him thread the needle of putting a competitive team on the field to keep his job while still losing enough to be in a good draft spot in 2027, this is a nonstarter.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/k9F2K5m
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