With the relationship between the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers becoming frayed in recent years, the organization has gone out of its way recently to make sure that their franchise quarterback is happy. Despite selecting a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Packers are determined to keep Rodgers around as long as possible after putting together back-to-back MVP seasons.
One of the biggest gripes seemingly was that Rodgers felt the team wasn’t putting enough resources into the team to help him offensively. Draft capital or free agent money wasn’t used on wide receivers to throw the ball to, which is something he had hoped would happen.
Davante Adams is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, but they have been unable to find a consistent No. 2 option behind him. But, the front office has certainly tried to appease Rodgers more, recently.
They used a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Clemson wide receiver Amari Rodgers. They re-acquired Randall Cobb after he left Green Bay following the 2018 season.
Both of those moves should have made Rodgers happy, but they could lose Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency this year. If that is the case, CBS Sports believes they will replace him with a wide receiver that could need a change of scenery in JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster burst onto the scene his first two seasons in the NFL playing the No. 2 role behind Antonio Brown. After Brown wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster took on the role as No. 1 wide receiver but he wasn’t able to replicate that success.
Injuries played a part, but the Steelers’ offense was led by the aging Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and Delvin Hodges the last three seasons certainly impacted his numbers as well. If he is looking for a fresh start somewhere else, Green Bay would be a great landing spot.
He could settle into a No. 2 role again behind a star receiver, this time in Adams. He would be catching passes from one of the greatest of all-time in Rodgers and would certainly benefit from the matchups generated courtesy of the attention Adams draws.
Smith-Schuster could opt for a one-year deal to rehab his value and look to land a long-term deal in 2023 after a productive, healthy season in 2022.
