It’s amazing the difference a year can make. Twelve months ago, there were so many questions in Green Bay surrounding the Packers’ future. Between Aaron Rodgers wanting to move on and not knowing exactly what they had in Jordan Love, there were plenty of questions entering last offseason. One year later Green Bay looks and feels like a brand new franchise.
This time last year, Love was the kid on the bench backing up a future Hall of Famer. Green Bay wasn’t even sure he was ready for primetime. Now Love is heading into his first offseason as the unquestioned starting quarterback and future of the organization. Finishing second in the NFL in touchdown passes (32) and upsetting the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round will do that.
Love and the Packers’ stock is much higher than it was last spring and should continue to climb. Green Bay usually drafts well, and you’d expect that trend to continue. Most people expected the Packers to have a down year while Love took time to figure life out as QB1. The first few weeks of the Love era were a bit rocky but once he settled in, by midseason they were off to the races.
There’s a quote attributed to former Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey that states: “Trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late.” Legendary NFL coaches like Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick adhered to this philosophy and were quite successful despite some backlash over certain personnel moves.
What the Packers did by moving on from Rodgers when they did (even if he forced their hand) has set them up perfectly. If it wasn’t a “year early,” it was just in the nick of time. Rodgers got his trade to the Jets and all the hype that going to New York entails. For all that trouble he didn’t even finish the first quarter leaving that game with a ruptured Achilles.
Of course, had Rodgers stayed another year and the same thing happened, the Packers had Love, who’s already proven to be a much more competent QB than Zach Wilson. But trying to find a trade partner for a 40-year-old QB coming off an Achilles injury that cost him the entire season would’ve been miserable.
So, the Packers really dodged a bullet by granting Rodgers one last wish when they did. Now with such a young team led by a QB who’s only 25 and has so much upside, Green Bay should be in the NFC playoff mix for years to come. Last year at this time the state of Wisconsin was worried not knowing how they’d look without Rodgers taking snaps. Now all the cheeseheads are confident they’ve got their guy and could seriously compete for a Super Bowl next season.
