I know everyone seems really focused on short vs long-term. I think the question is how long do you think Rodgers plays? With a better OL and a desire to still play, he could easily play another 5+ years. So is Baker at age 31 better than Rodgers at 42? I think if Rodgers remains healthy and wants to continue playing, isn’t there a good chance he’s still a better QB than Baker at that point?
Let’s not play ourselves here friends. Rodgers would turn this into the #1 offense in the league overnight. I like Baker, but people seem to be selling short on what Rodgers would actually do in this offense. He was the NFL MVP last year and the Browns on the whole have a better line, a better group of skill position players, and an offensive system tailor made for his skill set.
The real question is what does Rodgers have left in the tank? He will turn 38 in December. He’s generally been healthy throughout his career aside from two seasons. He just had the best year of his career and was the MVP. Three time MVP and Super Bowl champ. One thing to remember with Rodgers: while he’s been in the league for 16 years, he didn’t play until his 4th season in the league. This could mean that he would actually have way more left in the tank than most players around his age or younger.
For example (year drafted in parenthesis):
Rodgers (2005):
Age: 37
GP: 197
GS: 190
*7 GP were mop-up duty in first three seasons.
Stafford (2009):
Age: 33
GP: 165
GS: 1
Ryan (2008):
Age: 35
GP: 205
GS: 205
If we’re getting three years of Rodgers at Elite/MVP caliber level and two years of Pro-Bowl caliber football after that, sign me up. The Browns would have a legit shot to win the Super Bowl for the next several years with Rodgers. While we can project Baker to be a great QB, there’s obviously still a lot of unknowns.
IMO, trading for Rodgers also doesn’t mean much when it comes to long term implications. Baker’s salary goes up next year, and if he signed a new contract with the Browns he likely gets more than what Rodgers currently makes. Rodgers makes $37 mill in 21, $39 mill in 22, and $28 mill in 23. (His salary drops in a year cap is projected to jump). Then is a free agent in 2024 at 40.
All it means is that they’d need to work on grooming an eventual replacement. Assuming the cap goes up as projected, there’s likely little-to-no real roster impact.