Aaron Rodgers is causing problems for the Packers front office

Aaron Rodgers doesn’t just put opposing secondaries in tough spots. The Hall of Fame quarterback does the same thing to the Packers’ front office.

Everyone associated with the Green Bay Packers organization should be thrilled with the way that Aaron Rodgers has started the 2020 season. His stellar quarterback play is a big reason why the team sports a 3-0 record heading into Week 4. His career renaissance does mean the team’s front office is headed towards some interesting decisions in the very near future.

The team’s decision to trade up in April’s draft to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the No. 26 pick was a clear attempt to future proof the game’s most important position. The decision didn’t go over well with the team’s passionate fan base or their Hall of Fame quarterback. The prevailing wisdom believed the Packers should have spent that draft capital on acquiring weapons to aid Rodgers in the passing game.

Publicly, the Packers insist the move was made because of their intense belief that Love can turn into a future star. That doesn’t tell the whole story. Green Bay clearly had concerns over whether or not Rodgers was going to continue to play at a high-level for the remainder of his current contract. Even more perplexing for the organization was the question of whether or not they should offer him an extension to extend his stay past the 2023 season.

That was a defensible question given how Rodgers played in 2019. He wasn’t bad, but he certainly wasn’t an elite signal-caller by any stretch of the imagination. He did lead his team to a 13-3 record on the back of just over 4,000 aerial yards, but he just didn’t have the same juice during his age 35 season. Questions naturally arose as to whether or not he was starting to suffer from some inevitable age-related regression.

Fans also understandably wondered whether or not Rodgers was the ideal quarterback to fit head coach Matt LaFleur’s offensive scheme. The new coaching staff in Green Bay wants to place a greater emphasis on running the football. Inevitably, that leads to some conflict with a quarterback like Rodgers who thrives when he’s able to dictate his offense on a regular basis.

To Rodgers’ credit, he’s bounced back in a big way in 2020. He’s emphatically answered any questions about his physical condition or interest in playing for his current squad. The former Cal star is completing over 67% of his passes on the year and has yet to throw an interception. His nine touchdown passes to a variety of receivers have caused opponents fits to open the campaign.

So what’s the problem for the front office?

Front offices love it with their star quarterbacks play great. Brian Gutekunst and his staff certainly don’t want to change anything about the way Rodgers is performing at the moment. That doesn’t change the fact that his play is putting the team’s front office in an awkward position.

Rodgers could easily be in a credible position to ask for an extension in the very near future. His current deal runs out after the 2023 season. The Packers are under zero obligation to grant him such an extension, but upsetting the franchise’s brightest star could prove disastrous for everyone involved. The last thing Green Bay needs is for Rodgers to publicly demand a trade and, in the process, vilify the organization.

That brings Love’s value to the franchise into question. His rookie contract guarantees him four years with the franchise. Not coincidentally, that also means he’s due to stay in Green Bay through the 2023 season. The franchise can easily extend his deal by a year by exercising his fifth-year option, but that’s the period of time where he’s most valuable to the franchise.

One of the biggest benefits of hitting on a young quarterback in the draft is the ability to spend more cap space on other positions while he is still on his rookie-scale deal. Rodgers’ uptick in play will likely prevent Green Bay from realizing that benefit with Love.

Do the Packers have any options?

The front office does have a great deal of flexibility, but none of the choices available to them are ideal. Firstly, they could choose Love over Rodgers at any time. That’s going to be a really difficult choice to make if Rodgers continues to play at a high level. The Packers successfully navigated the challenge when they transitioned to Rodgers from Brett Favre, but the chances of Love developing into a Hall of Fame quarterback aren’t all that high.

The other, more likely choice, for the Packers would be to start to work on increasing Love’s value as a trade chip. The team could use the way the Patriots handled Jimmy Garoppolo as a blueprint. Admittedly, New England was aided by Garoppolo being able to play during Tom Brady’s injury absence. It might be challenging for the Packers to get such a big return for Love if Rodgers stays healthy for the near future.

Even so, if Green Bay starts to leak stories about how good Love looks in practice it’s easy to envision a scenario where his value starts to ascend. Combine that with a few good preseason showings in subsequent years and it’s possible that the Packers could profit from dealing Love to a team looking for a young quarterback to install as their starter immediately.

What should the Packers do?

In the short-term, Green Bay should sit still and watch things develop. They’ve already absorbed the negative press of spending a high pick on Love. That furor has died down and isn’t going to pipe up anytime soon. In short, they’ve already paid the heavy price to acquire the young quarterback.

That means they are under zero pressure to do anything quickly. Instead, they should let the season play out with Rodgers at the helm. If he continues to play like an All-Pro, then Green Bay should absolutely explore the idea of providing him a contract extension to lock him up for the long haul.

If and when that happens, the franchise should start taking calls on Love. Intentionally working on a plan to raise his trade value should be an immediate priority for the front office. Some subtle subterfuge on that front could pay major dividends for the Packers.

Ultimately, the Packers are in an enviable position with more quality at the quarterback position then they might be able to put on the field. It’s a great problem for the franchise to have, but it still means tough decisions lie ahead for the front office.