MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Pete Carroll: We have no intention of trading Russell Wilson



Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is likely to take the first seat in the quarterback carousel, Seattle’s Russell Wilson could be the second.

But at least for now, it doesn’t look like Wilson is going to leave the Pacific Northwest.


After Wilson said in an interview with the TODAY Show on Tuesday that he loves Seattle and it’s great, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday that the team doesn’t intend to trade Wilson.

Though Carroll did note that General Manager John Schneider is open to discussing anyone on the roster, including the team’s top players.

“At this time of year, there’s conversations about everybody. We’re talking about everybody,” Carroll said. “And that’s commonplace for us to have conversations with teams about all of the players — particularly marquee players. And that’s not changed. It’s been the same every year we’ve been here. So it’s the same as it’s been. We have no intention of making any move there. But the conversations, John has to feel those — he always has. But nothing specific to that.”

In 2021, the Seahawks finished with their first losing record since Wilson took over as quarterback in 2012. Seattle has been to the playoffs in three of the last four years. But the club hasn’t made it back to the NFC Championship Game since losing Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots.

PFT

 

Report: Commanders made “strong offer” to Seahawks for Russell Wilson

Washington General Manager Martin Mayhew said this week that the team has spoken to every team that might have a quarterback available for trade in its attempt to secure a franchise signal caller.

So it comes as no surprise that the Seahawks received an inquiry from the Commanders about Russell Wilson.


Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports Washington made a “strong offer” to the Seahawks for Wilson. How strong? Rapoport said Washington offered multiple first-round picks.

It’s possible Wilson, who has a no-trade clause, vetoed any possible deal. He said this week that while he loves the East Coast, “I think the West Coast is better for me right now.”

It’s also possible the Seahawks are trying to trade Wilson without looking like they are trying to trade him. The right offer, combined with Wilson’s OK, still might find Wilson packing his bags and heading elsewhere.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said this week the team has “no intention” of trading Wilson, a phrase that leaves open the possibility of a trade.

Wilson missed three games with a finger injury in 2021 but compiled a 6-8 record in games he played. Seattle finished with a losing record for the first time since Wilson took over as the team’s starting quarterback in 2012.

Wilson was a Pro Bowler as he completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,113 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 183 yards and two scores.

PFT

 

Report: Multiple teams have called Raiders about Derek Carr



More teams are searching for a franchise quarterback than there are franchise quarterbacks. That’s why the Commanders have spoken to every team that might have one available.

It’s also why “multiple teams” have expressed interest in Derek Carr, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.


Carr is entering the final year of the five-year, $125 million extension he signed in 2017, and new coach Josh McDaniels acknowledged this week that the team has had no extension talks with the quarterback’s representation.

As long as Carr’s contract remains as is, the Raiders likely continue to get calls about his availability.

He is scheduled to make $19.8 million in 2022, which ranks 15th among NFL quarterbacks.

PFT

 

Mason Rudolph says he has a different mindset, preparing to start for the Steelers this year



Mason Rudolph views himself as the Steelers’ starting quarterback in 2022.

Rudolph told Jim Rome that he always prepared as if he might be called upon, but now that Ben Roethlisberger is retired, Rudolph is really approaching this offseason as if he’s the team leader.


“I’m having an entire offseason with a different mindset,” Rudolph said. “The last few years, am I preparing like a starter? Yes, but you know when you get back to camp there’s a Hall of Fame quarterback there who is the starter. So I am excited for the opportunity, having a chance to be the starting quarterback. That’s all you can ask for.”

Of course, the Steelers are not just going to hand Rudolph the starting job. Rudolph says he understands that he has to compete to start in Week One.

“There’s always going to be competition,” Rudolph said. “No matter if we draft somebody or bring somebody else in in, I’m never going to shy away from that and that’s an obvious component. We know they’re going to add to the room. So I am excited to compete and looking forward to the opportunity to play.”

Realistically, the Steelers are probably more likely to bring in another quarterback to start ahead of Rudolph than Rudolph is to earn the job. But he sounds like a man who believes he’s going to be starting for the Steelers when the season starts.

PFT

 

Aaron Rodgers reportedly is torn between staying with the Packers or moving on. So if he’ll be moving on, where will he go?

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Rodgers has specific deals lined up with other teams — and those teams have trade compensation lined up with the Packers. The potential moves have been arranged, essentially, with the permission of the Packers.


The destinations are believed to be exclusively in the AFC. To little surprise, the Broncos are one of them. Other viable possibilities are, we’re told, the Titans and Steelers.

To be clear, if Rodgers chooses Denver or Tennesseee or Pittsburgh, the deals will fall into place quickly, both as to the trade terms and as to the contract Rodgers would sign.

Thus, as we understand it, the current question isn’t simply Packers vs. Not the Packers. It’s Green Bay or Denver or Tennessee or Pittsburgh, with the final move hinging on whatever Rodgers decides to do.

Three weeks and one day ago, Rodgers said that he’d take a couple of weeks to contemplate his future, and that his decision would come pretty quickly. He’s now at the point where a decision soon needs to be made. He’s the first domino for the quarterback movement that will occur in the 2022 offseason. And he needs to decide whether he wants to stay with Green Bay in a division that, with him, the Packers can easily control, or whether he wants to jump to the AFC West with the Broncos, the AFC North with the Steelers, or the AFC South with the Titans.

The clock continues to tick. Rodgers continues to mull over his choices. Time (but not much) will tell what he decides.

PFT

 

Empty seats at Heinz Field make pursuit of Aaron Rodgers a no-brainer



Many were surprised (some pleasantly, some not) to see the Steelers as a viable potential destination for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It doesn’t fit with the team’s overall approach to team-building, especially not at quarterback.

But the team’s latest search for a new quarterback following the retirement of a Hall of Famer comes at a quietly precarious time for the Steelers. In 2021, local TV ratings dropped 10 percent. Likewise, and as recently noted by John Luciew of PennLive.com, ticket sales are down — and no-shows are up.


The average attendance at Heinz Field for what became Ben Roethlisberger’s farewell season was 60,400, roughly 8,000 below capacity. Even if the tickets for most of those empty seats had been purchased, the balance sheets of NFL teams also need people to show up and buy overpriced food, drinks, and merchandise.

And so, as Luciew suggests, the Steelers will be poised to stimulate the fan base by spending money.

The Steelers already have roughly $30 million in cap space for 2022, and that’s before engaging in the usual cap-clearing techniques of dumping bloated contracts, extending ascending players in the latter years of their deals, and/or renegotiating others, kicking cap dollars into years where the cap will be even higher, if not dramatically higher.

Enter Rodgers. He’d command a huge salary, if he wants a huge salary. (He could deliberately take a lot less, in order to help the Steelers put talented players around him.) And he’d definitely fill the stadium at the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela.

There would be no unsold tickets in Pittsburgh. There would be no unused tickets, either. The Steelers would become one of the most interesting, most followed, and most talked-about teams in the entire league. At a time when some of the key local metrics are suggesting that the Yinzers are yawning, landing Rodgers is precisely the move that would cause them to snap out of the current funk.

PFT

 

Rodgers and Wilson will be with Green Bay and Seattle, respectively, this year. Teams don't give up franchise passers without guaranteed replacements waiting in the wings. This is the same drama that gets stirred up every year, and will ultimately mean nothing.

That's my bet, at least.

 

Im leaning towards agreeing with you. These 2 QB's stand to make money by staying put. They know the team, the coaches and the system. To leave for another team and basically start over doesnt make much sense too me... but, Aaron Rodgers doesnt make sense to begin with... never has, never will, lol.

 

Based on everything Aaron Rodgers has said about his timeline for making a decision about what he’ll do in 2022, the decision already should be made by now. Free agency officially begins in nine days. The legal tampering period opens in just seven days. Even now, teams are talking to agents about players who may be available.

For those of you who don’t spend time checking out non-work websites when not working, you missed a few developments this weekend. Here’s what happened.


On Friday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Rodgers is “truly torn” on where he’d like to play in 2022, going “back and forth” regarding what he wants. In writing up a blurb on the issue, we pointed out that to stay or not to stay in Green Bay isn’t a real decision. To choose the Packers or a specific alternative team is. As we wrote, “Get back to us, Ian or Schefty or whoever, when it’s Green Bay vs. Denver or Green Bay vs. Tennessee or Green Bay vs. Miami or Green Bay vs. Indianapolis or Green Bay vs. Pittsburgh or Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay or or Green Bay vs. San Francisco or Green Bay vs. Any Specific NFL City Other Than Not Green Bay.”

Then, things got interesting. After posting our item regarding the report that Rodgers is “truly torn” and pointing out that there’s nothing about which to be torn without knowing the places to which the Packers would trade him, someone who read our item — someone with actual, specific information — reached out to explain that the decision isn’t Green Bay vs. Not Green Bay. That potential destinations have been identified and tentative trade terms have been arranged.

This prompted push back from the Packers, telling reporters who cover the team and/or national reporters who hope to remain in the team’s good graces that the team has had no trade talks. In response, we’ve urged common sense. To make a decision, Rodgers needs to know the teams to which the Packers would trade him. 49ers? No way. Buccaneers? No way. AFC teams? Sure.

Next comes the question of what the Packers expect, and whether these teams will part with whatever that is. How many first-round picks? What else? Finally, how much will these teams pay Rodgers?

The longer Rodgers goes without making a decision, the more clear it becomes that he’s not deciding whether to enter the New Team restaurant. He’s sitting at the table, looking at a detailed menu. Picking a meal.

Some have suggested that, once Rodgers makes a decision, things will move quickly. Indeed it will, because Rodgers already knows the teams to which the Packers will be traded, those teams know what the Packers will want via trade, and those teams know what it will take to sign Rodgers. The decision, no matter how it’s leaked or announced, won’t be to be or not to be a Packer. It will to be the quarterback of one specific team.

In other words, and despite any efforts by the Packers or anyone else to dispute this, the potential deals are in place and ready to go, waiting for Rodgers to make up his mind and to act on it.

PFT

 

Aaron Rodgers has contract offer from Green Bay Packers that would alter QB market, source says

The Green Bay Packers have made a significant long-term contract offer to Aaron Rodgers that would alter the quarterback market, a source told ESPN.

Terms of a potential new contract could always change, but a three- or four-year deal would help Green Bay's salary-cap situation while giving Rodgers, 38, contractual clarity well into his 40s.

Green Bay is more than $27 million over the cap just nine days before the start of the new league year. The Packers were expected to offer Rodgers a new deal at some point this offseason, with the dual intention of getting under the salary cap and also providing market-level compensation for the two-time reigning league MVP.

The Broncos also are lurking as a potential contender to land Rodgers, with a source telling ESPN that Denver is willing to compete to acquire him either through a new contract or draft-pick compensation.

Rodgers is weighing his options but is expected to make a decision soon about his future in the NFL. He previously hinted on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he'd like to make his decision by the franchise tender deadline Tuesday, when the Packers need to decide whether to use the tag on star wide receiver Davante Adams.

Whatever Rodgers decides will create additional cap space. If he doesn't play in Green Bay, the Packers would get between $19.3 million and $26.9 million in salary-cap savings, depending on the timing of the decision.

Rodgers has one year left on his deal and would count $46.1 million against the cap, a number that will no doubt be lowered by an extension should he decide to return. To that end, Packers vice president of football operations Russ Ball has been engaged in contract talks with Rodgers' agent, David Dunn.

Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes currently is the NFL's highest-paid quarterback, with a $450 million deal that has an average annual value of $45 million. Buffalo's Josh Allen is the league's second-highest-paid quarterback, both in terms of total value (over $258 million) and average annual value ($43.006 million).

Atlanta's Matt Ryan is the league's only player with a cap hit larger than Rodgers'. His current deal with the Falcons counts $48.7 million against the cap.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week that Green Bay has not received any trade offers for Rodgers, emphasizing that "not a single person" has called to inquire about the star quarterback's availability.

One source stressed to ESPN that the Packers would want so much in compensation -- top draft picks and key young players -- that a trade could be difficult for the team acquiring Rodgers to execute.

League sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter last week that the Packers had not engaged in any trade scenarios regarding Rodgers and were awaiting his decision.

Multiple league executives believe the Steelers have at least inquired on Rodgers, but their level of involvement is still unclear.

The Packers began the offseason nearly $50 million over the salary cap, and that doesn't include the contracts of Adams, linebacker De'Vondre Campbell and cornerback Rasul Douglas.

Thanks to renegotiations with left tackle David Bakhtiari, defensive tackle Kenny Clark and running back Aaron Jones, they're now $27.5 million over the cap, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Packers almost certainly will use the franchise tag on Adams if a long-term deal isn't completed by the 4 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday. Green Bay wants to retain Adams whether Rodgers returns or not.

ESPN

 

It just don't end now its the decision by Aaron Rodgers seems like every year there some kind of drama in Green Bay

 

Report: Packers, Aaron Rodgers agree to four-year deal



Well, it was fun while it lasted. Even if it never got started.

For all his huffing and puffing, Aaron Rodgers didn’t blow Green Bay’s house down.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Packers and Rodgers have agreed to terms on a four-year, $200 million deal. It makes him the highest paid player in league history. He’ll get $153 million guaranteed, and it will reduce his cap number of $46.66 million.


As usual, the devil will reside in the details of the deal. How much is fully guaranteed at signing? Is it a two-year commitment? Three years? Four? We’ll know once the deal is available to be scrutinized.

Regardless, it ends the drama regarding Rodgers’s destination. For all the bluster about wanting out, he’s staying put.

PFT

 

I bet he's "torn" on how he's going to spend it.

 

WOW! There has been a lot of Russell Wilson trade smoke, but I never really believed it would happen. Sounds like a huge haul for Seattle. Let’s see how easy it is for them to find a viable QB to go with all those picks and players. Without one, they will be mediocre at best.

 

Im kinda shocked it went down like that. I thought he was staying in Seattle... thats what I get for thinking.

 

Going to be interesting/fun to see just how much the Broncos give up.

Trade is pending a physical...

 

AFC West is now QB West...

 

I would have bet a decent amount of money on a 2-teamer that Rodgers was staying and Wilson was going. Packers did a lot this past season minus the 1st round exit to mend things and were down to give him what he wanted. Wilson just isn't worth keeping considering the team and division landscape. I remember saying such about Wilson when Tim made that thread on our opinions about it.