Denver Broncos general manager George Paton has attempted to quash speculation that he may move to bring in Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers following the move to bring in his former defensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, as their new head coach.
Rodgers, who is the favorite to pick up the NFL MVP award for a second successive season, looked like he might leave the Packers last summer but stuck around and impressively led his side to the NFC divisional playoffs before they were surprisingly beaten by the San Francisco 49ers on home turf.
The Broncos endured a poor season, finishing bottom of the AFC West with a 7-10 record, making it six straight seasons without postseason action, leading to Vic Fangio leaving his post. The appointment of Hackett should aid their odds, which you can track on comparison service sidelines.io, and if they were to bring in Rodgers their odds would no doubt further improve, but how likely is that to happen?
Seemingly this story doesn’t have a great deal of factual basis, and Hacket has moved to quell such talk, albeit while also singing the praises of the 38-year-old quarterback.
“First and foremost, Aaron [Rodgers] was absolutely unbelievable. He’s been one of my biggest supporters, and I love him. I’m thankful very much for him,”
“Coaching a man like that, the one thing I learned is, you better have an answer for every question because he’s going to ask every single question about every single thing that you’re going to do. I think that was something that was very valuable for me. When you’re dealing with a guy that intelligent, if you want to do something, you’re not going to be able to put that up there and say, ‘Hey, you’re doing this,’ unless it’s something that he might’ve already done in the past. If it’s something new, you have to be sure to have a great answer. It’s just allowed me to understand communicating and talking with everybody and knowing that you have to always have an answer to ‘Why?’.” Hackett added.
This is an interesting way to dissect the way in which coaches have to deal with immense talents, such as Rodgers, especially those who won’t just blindly follow orders.
On the possibility of a move to Denver, Paton stated;
“Welcome to UCHealth [Training Center]; I think this is the first time you guys have been here because of COVID-19. And, absolutely not. Thanks for asking.”
That may therefore put an end to the talk, though probably not; such is the way the rumor mill and news cycle follow Rodgers wherever he goes. It will be interesting to see if this coming offseason results in the same amount of talk about a possible Lambeau Field exit or whether the media will look to cover another story?
Rodgers is a player Green Bay would like to keep hold of, but there is also the possibility that he elects to retire. There is talk that he might ask for a trade, and if that did occur, then talk of a move to Denver would actually prove more relevant.