Packers: Five-step plan to successful rebuild if Aaron Rodgers leaves

If the Packers enter rebuild mode, how can they make it a successful one?

Here we are in late January, with absolutely no idea how this offseason is going to go for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers could initiate ‘Last Dance 2.0’ and go all-in with Aaron Rodgers returning, but they could also trade him away and start over. Nobody knows. That’s what makes this offseason such an interesting one.

However, what if Rodgers tells GM Brian Gutekunst he wants a trade elsewhere? How could the Packers make a rebuild a successful one?

Trade Aaron Rodgers

Of course, if Rodgers retires, this one won’t be possible. However, if Rodgers intends to play in 2022 but not in Green Bay, Gutekunst should grant his wish and seek a trade partner.

Rodgers could be about to win his second straight MVP award. There will be teams interested in trading for him.

Rodgers would need to give the green light to his future destination, but a team like the Denver Broncos could be a great fit. With Rodgers they can go all-in and become an AFC contender.

For the Packers, this would be step one of the rebuild. Get as much back in a trade as possible. Multiple first-round draft picks, some Day 2 picks, and maybe even a talented young player to develop.

If we use Denver as an example, the 2022 ninth-overall pick would almost certainly have to be included.

Getting back a boatload of draft picks would put the Packers ahead of the game at the start of their rebuild.

Create a healthier salary cap for 2023

It’s no secret that Green Bay’s salary cap is a mess. Per Over The Cap, the team is currently -$40.13 million for 2022. If Rodgers stays, Gutekunst and Russ Ball will need to work on extensions and restructures to get under the cap while maintaining a competitive roster.

In a rebuild, forget all of that. No more restructures and pushing money into the future. Focus on taking a hit now for a healthier cap in future years.

Clearing cap space would help. Trading Rodgers would save the Packers $19.87 million, according to Over The Cap’s calculator. Releasing Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, and Mason Crosby would create an additional $39.48 million.

All of a sudden, the Packers would be comfortably under the cap with many of their biggest contracts off the books.

Accept the 2022 season might not be a good one

Losing so many key players under contract, and others who leave in free agency, would hurt the Packers’ win column in 2022. But that’s part of the rebuilding process. The Packers won’t win another 13 games next season in a rebuild, but that’s not a bad thing in the long run.

If Green Bay struggles and loses a lot of games, the result would be a higher draft pick in 2023.

Give Jordan Love a full year to see what he can do

The Packers don’t yet know whether Jordan Love is their future franchise QB. If Aaron Rodgers is gone in 2022, Love will get his opportunity. Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur will have the chance to see what Love can do as the starter for an entire year.

It wouldn’t necessarily matter what the Packers’ record is — Green Bay went 6-10 in Rodgers’ first year as a starter in 2008 — but rather whether he shows development and the potential to become a great QB.

If not, be willing to move on in 2023 and look for a new QB in the draft.

Build through the draft

The Packers would have extra draft picks from the Rodgers trade, would likely have a high pick from a poor 2022 season, and also potentially compensatory picks for losing the likes of Davante Adams and De’Vondre Campbell in free agency this year.

Green Bay could enter the 2023 NFL Draft with multiple first-rounders, multiple second-rounders, and multiple third-rounders, with double-digit picks in total. What an opportunity that would be to load up on young talent to build for the future with.

The team’s cap situation would also be much healthier, allowing for Gutekunst to bring in veterans via free agency.

Gutekunst would need to hit with his draft picks. It’s one thing to have higher picks, it’s another to cash in and build a strong roster.

But there’s good reason to have confidence in Gutey. Since becoming GM in 2018, he’s drafted defensive superstars Jaire Alexander and Rashan Gary, one of the NFL’s top offensive linemen in Elgton Jenkins, as well as key starters such as AJ Dillon, Darnell Savage, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Jon Runyan Jr.

It’s too early to judge the 2021 class, but Eric Stokes looked like a future Pro Bowler in year one, while Josh Myers and Royce Newman were both starters along the offensive line.

With a bunch of picks in 2023, the Packers would have the chance to strengthen the roster in a big way.