Broncos Insider Floats Much Less Daunting Aaron Rodgers Trade Package

Is the cost for Aaron Rodgers, if the Packers trade him, going to be less than initially projected?

The Denver Broncos are in prime position to land veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers via trade — if the Green Bay Packers at some point opt to relent. For now, the Packers are stubbornly holding true to their position that Rodgers isn't available via trade. 

Meanwhile, Broncos' GM George Paton continues to consolidate his position in the event Green Bay suddenly acquiesces to the demands of the NFL's reigning MVP. ESPN has reported that the Broncos are poised to "put the most in front of the Packers" if Rodgers does get dealt. 

So what would that trade package look like? Suffice to say, the Broncos would have to relinquish a pretty penny, as it were, but the quarterback position would cease to be problematic moving forward. 

Denver7's Broncos insider Troy Renck recently floated a trade package for Rodgers, based on what he's heard around the league, that would be far, far less daunting than CBS Sports' wild projection of three first-rounders, two seconds, and a cornerstone player. 

From talking to industry sources, it would look something like this: First round picks in 2022, 2023, a second-rounder one of those years and a promising young player or players. ESPN proposed Surtain and Tim Patrick.

I think the Broncos would fight to keep Surtain, so I don't see him in the deal. I would suggest that a trade could involve Jerry Jeudy. And maybe the Packers ask for Bradley Chubb, though he is due to make increasingly more money on his fifth-year option in 2022. Chubb is also considered a franchise cornerstone player, a leader, a culture setter. The Broncos, based on highly they regard Chubb, would not want him included. That said...

If I am the Broncos, and the Packers take the call, I don't let them off the phone until I get a deal. Facing a sixth consecutive year without the postseason for the first time since 1960-1976 warrants this type of urgency.

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Only two firsts, one second-rounder, and a player like Tim Patrick? Sold. 

The conversation would become a bit more prickly if the Packers' ask included a recent first-rounder like Jerry Jeudy, Bradley Chubb, or Noah Fant. Still, if Paton opted to make such a deal, Rodgers would hit the roster as the proverbial tide that would raise all ships. 

What would happen to Drew Lock in the event of Rodgers landing in Denver? Perhaps Lock too would be traded, even if not to the Packers. Then again, Rodgers is 37 and Lock is still playing on the cheap so perhaps Paton would want to hold onto him. 

Stay tuned. 

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