Aaron Rodgers rumors: Guessing the Steelers trade package
By John Buhler
If Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is traded this offseason, one team in the mix to land him in a blockbuster trade would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could replace Ben Roethlisberger by orchestrating a blockbuster trade for Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
While Rodgers returning to the Packers is the most likely outcome of his highly-publicized offseason, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports any potential Rodgers trade destination would be exclusively in the AFC. The three teams with the best shot at landing him are Pittsburgh, the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans. All three would be expected to win big immediately.
If Rodgers were to be dealt to Pittsburgh, what type of return package could Green Bay garner?
Aaron Rodgers rumors: What would a trade package from Steelers look like?
No matter what AFC team Rodgers is theoretically dealt to, the Packers would get at minimum two first-round picks in return. In the Steelers’ case, Pittsburgh would give up the No. 20 overall pick this year and the 2023 first-round pick next spring. Rodgers may be approaching 40 years old, but he is coming off back-to-back NFL MVPs. Pittsburgh would have to give up more than this.
A third first-round pick in 2024 may be up for debate, but there are no guarantees he plays beyond the next two seasons of his current contract. The expectation upon Rodgers going to the Steelers would be that Pittsburgh remains a perennial playoff team, meaning the discussed 2024 first-round pick would land somewhere in the No. 19 to No. 32 range. How to make this conditional?
Hypothetically speaking, if Pittsburgh makes the AFC playoffs in 2023, the 2024 first-round pick goes to Green Bay. Should Pittsburgh fail to qualify, maybe the Packers get Pittsburgh’s second-round pick in 2024 and a third in 2025? In essence, the Packers could command three late first-round picks or something of similar value in a blockbuster trade with the Steelers for Rodgers.
This trade could be made based on what is considered fair compensation in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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