Stampede Blue
It may be tempting, but it is a siren song.
Aaron Rodgers will no longer be a New York Jet in 2025. He will be on the market for the second time in his career, and it may sound tempting to bring him into the fold. The Indianapolis Colts would be wise to steer clear of Rodgers and his siren song, however, or find themselves crashing on the rocks. Rodgers is someone who holds name recognition and past glory, but those days are mostly behind him. Additionally, he brings way too many negatives to a team trying to find its identity.
We remember Rodgers in Green Bay and his ability to throw game winning bombs in the wanning seconds. We remember him being able to move in the pocket and turn something out of nothing. That is the memory. The reality, however, is something much different. He missed all of the 2023 season with a torn achilles, and that injury appeared to linger last year as his mobility and even ability to throw off that foot appears to be shot.
He posted 28 touchdowns on nearly 4,000 yards and a 63% completion percentage. Those numbers may tantalize some as they are head and shoulders above Anthony Richardson’s. To accept Rodgers is to give up on Richardson. Rodgers will never be more than a two year option. Richardson may not last much longer, but at least we don’t know that yet. This team isn’t one piece away, and many are not ready to fully throw in the towel on Richardson at this point. Bringing Rodgers in would seal his fate and end his time in Indianapolis.
More than the stats, what turns me away is the drama Rodgers would bring. Darkness retreats, teasing a Vice Presidential run, not showing up for mandatory camps, working to undermine and get the coaching staff fired, tanking development of young players, on the field antics and anger, and turning the locker room upside down are all things he brought to the Jets in just the last two years. TWO YEARS! You think he is going to settle down and change his ways now? The older he gets, the more onery he gets. He isn’t about to soften. Sometimes a player with an edge can be good, but in this case, it only creates a circus.
At the end of the day, there is zero reason and probably zero chance the Colts bring Aaron Rodgers onto the team. Age, disruption, and drama would be the major drawbacks. Maybe Chris Ballard is desperate enough to save his job and this is the hail mary he is looking for. If that happens to be the case, then there is no better man to throw that hail mary than Rodgers.
