The San Francisco 49ers have a bit of a quarterback conundrum on their hands. General manager John Lynch has said that Brock Purdy is the leader in the clubhouse to be the starter, but his return to the field is still up in the air. Purdy suffered an elbow injury in San Francisco’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and had to wait a few weeks to undergo surgery.
There is certainly a chance that Purdy can get on the field during the 2023 season as the elbow injury didn’t require a full reconstruction. But, in case Purdy is unable to get on the field, the 49ers have to figure out a contingency plan.
More than likely it involves either Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, or Sam Darnold, who was signed in free agency, leading the offense. But, what if the 49ers instead opted to swing for the fences knowing that Purdy will be their starter once he is healthy?
Inquiring about Aaron Rodgers would certainly be considered a swing for the fences. With talks between the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets stalling, other teams have emerged as possible suitors. The 49ers were one team mentioned that could be preparing to make a late run at Rodgers.
There are a lot of logistics that would need to be figured out when it came to the salary cap. Rodgers has a massive cap hit that the 49ers would have to shuffle multiple players around on their roster to accommodate.
What could a trade between the 49ers and Packers look like? Based on reports of what the Packers are looking for, San Francisco would have to include at least one premium draft pick to get a deal done.
A potential deal could be the 49ers sending their 2024 first-round pick to the Packers, along with two of their compensatory picks in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft in exchange for Rodgers. That is about the framework of the discussions that were occurring according to Craig Carton a few weeks ago.
Green Bay starts the rebuild around Jordan Love with some extra draft capital. Having Rodgers off their salary cap also opens up the books in future years to continue upgrading the roster. If Love bombs as the starter in 2023, the Packers would have the assets to move up the board in 2024 for one of the top quarterback prospects.
The 49ers, who are already Super Bowl contenders, would remain cemented in that position with Rodgers under center. It would be essentially a one-year rental, but having the chance to compete for a title is worth a 2024 first-round pick.
San Francisco could then have no qualms about shopping Lance on the trade market. They won’t get close to the value they paid to trade up and select him but should be able to restock their cupboard with a few mid-round draft assets.
Sacrificing more parts of their roster, as they have numerous players with top-of-the-market contracts would be the toughest part for the 49ers. Trading for Rodgers seems like an unrealistic avenue, but if they are willing to make the necessary changes, anything is possible with some salary cap manipulation.
