Hyde: Aaron Rodgers wants out? Is it too late for Dolphins to get in on that?
Should the Miami Dolphins be interested in Aaron Rodgers?
That’s not the the question.
What’s he worth?
That’s the question.
Of course you should want the league’s Most Valuable Player — at least if you want to contend for the next three to five years. That’s forever in today’s NFL. So of course you make the call to Green Bay if you’re Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier - if this hasn’t already played out. Of course you ask what he would cost — if, in fact, Green Bay either isn’t already deep in negotations to move him or decided not to move him.
This would be why San Francisco traded up from No. 12 to the Dolphins’ third pick, right? To negotiate that deal? Maybe the Dolphins had no shot at him, then. He’s from the Bay Area. He has a no-trade clause. The 49ers are a year off the Super Bowl and closer than the Doplphins with a great quarterback on board.
ESPN reported Rogers told the team he wants a trade. No great surprise there considering this past year. Rodgers, at 37, isn’t worth what Deshaun Watson is worth at 25. Watson (at least what Watson was worth before his legal issues). Watson has one more contract-friendly year, too.
The question, then, is: How much you want Rodgers?
I want him enough to give the Dolphins’ No. 18 pick this year, their first-round pick next year and the lower of the Dolphins’ two first-round picks in 2023. Sure, that’s three, first-round picks. But it’s three first-rounders in the second half of that round. And you still have two first-round picks, including the No. 6 this year.
That lets you get an impact player at No. 6 and makes you an instant contender. That’s what you do if you’re ready to make he leap. And I offset some of that cost by trading Tua Tagovailoa for a second-round pick right now.
Here’s what would be brutal: If San Francisco flips that No. 3 pick for Rodgers. If the Dolphins made that trade from No. 3 to No. 6 effectively for the 49ers’ No. 1 pick in 2023. That wouldn’t be a good look.
“It’s not the plan,’' is what some Dolphins fans will say about trading for Rodgers..
The plan is to get a premier quarterback and win. Rodgers does that. You can get a young quarterback and groom him next offseason or the year after.
The thing is, Rodgers wanting out is surprise. No doubt GMs across the league have known about this for months. Rogers was upset the Packers drafted Jordan Love last year rather than give him help. He called his future in Green Bay a “beautiful mystery” at the start of the offseason. He has done nothing to settle the issue since then.
Most NFL people expected him out next offseason, though. Not now. Not when Adam Schefter reports Rogers told the team he wants out.
Make the call, Chris Grier.
See the cost.
Weigh the bill.
You want to change the franchise? This would do it.
