Packers have to go all-in with Aaron Rodgers or trade him

By trading up for Jordan Love in the first round, the Green Bay Packers were rolling the dice and hoping to land a six.

Everything needed to be perfect for that pick to work. Love needed to eventually become a starter. The timing needed to be just right. And Aaron Rodgers needed to actually want to still play for the team a year later.

It’s understandable why the Packers wanted to be ahead of the game and find Rodgers’ successor. The last time you want to search for a quarterback is when you don’t have one. And it worked beautifully for the Packers when Rodgers replaced Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre in his fourth season, ensuring the franchise sustained success for many more years to come.

Maybe Love will still become the face of the franchise like Rodgers did in 2008. None of this is on Love or his potential. But it’s also fair to say this gamble has blown up in the Packers’ face.

By trading up for Love, they made a statement. They essentially placed a timer on the remainder of Rodgers’ time with the Packers. Hey, Aaron, thanks for everything but it’s almost time to replace you. If that’s not the case, then why on earth would they have traded for a QB?

And by putting a timer on Rodgers’ time in Green Bay, they had to expect him to be unhappy about it. A year on, he’s NFL MVP for the third time and the situation becomes even more complicated.

Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur have emphatically stated that Rodgers is their future. That’s all well and good, but why trade up for Love?

Packers unable to find balance between present and future

The Packers wanted to find Rodgers’ successor but also move on from Rodgers on their own terms. They wanted to keep their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, but have his replacement ready to go at some unspecified date in the future.

It’s a near-impossible balancing act to follow. How do you keep all parties involved happy? There’s no way Love wants to wait six years for his opportunity. Similarly, Rodgers doesn’t want to be booted out the door when the Packers decide time’s up.

With Love there, it’s impossible to go truly all-in like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have with Tom Brady as it then hurts the future, which they’ve committed to with Love. Forget rebuilding. They want a transition to another great quarterback. Committing huge money into future years on the salary cap doesn’t do that.

It’s time to go all-in or trade Rodgers

Are the Packers truly committed to Rodgers for the next three, four, five years? If yes, then the Love pick was a mistake. But if they believe they got it wrong, they need to show it.

Give Rodgers the money wants. Get him another wide receiver. Be brave in free agency. Trade Love. Whatever it takes.

If they are to go all-in with Rodgers, they are doing so with the knowledge a painful rebuild could await down the line. But it’d all be worth it to chase another Super Bowl ring with one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

The other option is to move on. Trade him while his value is sky-high. Bring back a ton of picks and possibly players, take the short-term dead cap hit but commit to building around Love. Make the transition now and spend the next two or three years building a contender with Love running the show.

Either all-in with Rodgers or trade him.

The Packers have tried to achieve balance. Commit to Rodgers but also keep an eye on the future. Say he’s going nowhere but then develop a first-round quarterback who will one day replace him.

Going for balance between present and future hasn’t worked.

It’s either all-in with Rodgers until he retires, or just make the switch now.