Throughout the offseason, one of the biggest storylines involved the drawn-out saga between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers wasn’t reporting to the team as he was contemplating his future with the Packers. After expressing his desire to have control over his future, Green Bay gave him a new contract that seemingly allows him to request a trade after the 2021 season, which is almost inevitable to happen at this point. While many teams will express interest in landing Rodgers, should the New York Giants be one of them?
The Giants are entering their third season with Daniel Jones as their starter and they spent this offseason surrounding him with an assortment of weapons. Given the efforts they made in improving the offense around Jones, there are no more excuses for Jones not to perform like a former first-round pick in 2021.
Despite the expectations that some may have for Jones this season, let’s take a look at why the Giants should already be planning their pursuit of Rodgers next offseason.
Who Shouldn’t Be Targeting Aaron Rodgers?
Before we highlight why the Giants should be in on the Rodgers’ sweepstakes, let’s pinpoint the teams who shouldn’t be looking to acquire Rodgers.
The Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens, the Dallas Cowboys, the Buffalo Bills, the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only teams who don’t need an upgrade at quarterback. There are other teams you could definitely make the argument for, but the ones named above are inarguable.
That means that there could be 23 teams who do their due diligence on possibly acquiring Rodgers from the Packers. The Giants are absolutely one of the teams that should be in the market for a new quarterback unless Jones plays at an All-Pro level in 2021. I don’t expect that to be the case, so there’s a good chance New York is searching for a new signal-caller once the 2021 season concludes.
Even though it would be a long shot for it to happen, New York would be remiss to not try and land the reigning NFL MVP via trade from Green Bay next offseason.
The Giants Are Closer To Contention Than People Think
When listing the contenders in the NFC, you have the Buccaneers, the Packers, the Rams, the Seahawks, and the 49ers considered as teams who could win the conference. In the NFC East, the Cowboys are considered the favorites, largely due to the return of Dak Prescott. Given the state of the NFC East, winning the division hasn’t been an impressive feat in recent years.
For the Giants, they have a defense that’s made massive improvements, making them a candidate to field one of the best units in 2021. Saquon Barkley is set to return — possibly in a limited fashion to start the season — and the additions of Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney give the offense an opportunity to have a much-improved campaign this season. However, the one reason why people are skeptical of the Giants is due to the uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position with Jones.
Everyone knows the most important position on the field is the quarterback position and New York doesn’t have one that exudes confidence. With a better quarterback operating the offense, the Giants could cement themselves as a threat in the NFC in the future. I bet New York will regret passing on Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft when it’s all said and done.
Once again, while it may be a longshot, New York should do everything in their power to make Aaron Rodgers their quarterback in 2022.
