He isn’t actually mentioned by name, but it’s pretty clear who FanDuel is talking about – Aaron Rodgers is +220 odds to start the new NFL season for the Denver Broncos.
Last season’s league MVP is profoundly unhappy in Green Bay with a seemingly fractured relationship with the team’s front office causing him to miss the team’s offseason program.
The reports are that #12 wants out of Lambeau, and that he even turned down a lucrative two-year contract extension earlier in the offseason.
Rodgers vs Packers
So far the Packers have refused to entertain trade offers for Rodgers (which would likely start with 3 x first-round draft picks). But with every day that passes, the need for a resolution grows.
Rodgers has already started handing back pay checks because of his stance, while Green Bay knows that trading its best player would cost it a cool $38million in dead money against the salary cap – split over 2021 and 2022.
San Francisco did make a run at Rodgers before the NFL Draft earlier this year, but ended up drafting its signal caller of the future in North Dakota State’s Trey Lance instead.
The team still talked about when it comes to Rodgers is the Denver Broncos – a franchise with a roster stacked with talent but without a definite long-term answer at quarterback. Probably a top QB away from a Super Bowl.
You know the answer likely isn’t in the building when both current in-house options are trading at the same odds.
Drew Lock, a second-round draft pick out of Mizzou in 2019, started 13 games in 2020 and while the Broncos talk him up, he didn’t exactly look like the second coming of John Elway (4-9 record).
In the offseason Denver added to its mix in the QB room by acquiring Teddy Bridgewater in a trade from Carolina. The fact the Panthers preferred Sam Darnold over Teddy, and allowed him to bolt for a sixth-round pick, should tell you this is not for ever either.
Denver QB odds
Both Lock and Bridgewater are rated +145 to start in Week 1 for Denver when it faces the New York Giants in its September 12 opener.
FanDuel clearly has only one mind though when it lists “Another” in those odds at +220 – Aaron Charles Rodgers. You can also bet Brett Rypien at +1600 but that is really only there because it has to be.
So now we wait as the clock ticks down to training camp on July 28. Will Rodgers report in Green Bay or while he ultimately force the Packers to blink first? If so then Denver is likely to be at the front of the queue.
Remember Elway’s big splash to land then free agent Peyton Manning worked out pretty nicely – two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy. Same again in the Rocky Mountains? We’ll find out soon enough.