Grading the Packers on Salary-Cap Curve: Quarterbacks

Part 1 of annual spin on season-ending grades focuses on Aaron Rodgers and the quarterbacks.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Player grades are a staple series of stories at the end of every season. Ours are different, as we grade on a salary-cap curve. That’s because the cap is such a big part of building a roster. Not only must a team’s high-priced players deliver but it must have some of its less-expensive players outperform their contracts. Generally, the Green Bay Packers got those contributions on the way to a second consecutive NFC Championship Game.

Part 1 of a series leads off with the quarterbacks. All salary data is from OverTheCap.com.

Aaron Rodgers

No. 10 among quarterbacks with $21.64 million cap charge

This is an easy one. No matter how much a player is getting paid or how much he counts against the salary cap, if he’s the best player in the NFL at his position, he has to get an A.

That’s the case with Rodgers, the first-team All-Pro quarterback. Coupled with his relatively modest cap charge, he represented an incredible bargain. Rodgers led the NFL in passer rating and touchdown passes. In 16 regular-season games, he had a passer rating of at least 107 in 14. He threw in rhythm. He was dangerous deep. He was as sharp as ever mentally in Year 2 under coach Matt LaFleur.

Rodgers joined Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era and Young and Sammy Baugh as the only quarterbacks since at least 1940 to win the “Percentage Triple Crown” of touchdown percentage, interception percentage and completion percentage. He thrived in his partnership with LaFleur, much to the surprise of his legion of critics who assumed he was too selfish to be coached. With Rodgers enjoying a turn-back-the-clock season, he led the NFL’s highest-scoring offense and got the Packers back to the championship game.

In 10 years, when people take a quick look back at Rodgers’ big-game history, the excellent statistical production in the NFC Championship Game in defeat against Tampa Bay will seem obvious. In reality, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, he wasn’t good enough against an excellent defense.

Having played in the neighborhood 1,350 snaps in 18 games, one decision will really stick out – his choice to throw into double coverage on third-and-goal from the 8 rather than run well inside the 5. The Packers might have gone for it if it were, say, fourth-and-goal from the 3. Who knows how history changes – or maybe it doesn’t – had he scrambled. Of course, history might have changed had Will Redmond intercepted Tom Brady late in the first half, Kevin King hadn’t been torched for a touchdown before halftime and had Jared Veldheer been available to play right tackle.

Grade: A.

Jordan Love

No. 41 with $2.25 million cap charge

Not much should be made of Love being inactive for all 18 games. He wasn’t drafted to play this year. Heck, he wasn’t even drafted to compete with Tim Boyle to be the No. 2. He was drafted to eventually replace Aaron Rodgers. His standing on the depth chart this year is irrelevant in terms of his long-term future.

The truth is, with no rookie minicamp, no offseason practices, an abbreviated training camp and no preseason, he never had a prayer. Unlike the other first-round quarterbacks, who were either handed the starting job or allowed to compete for it, Love always took the No. 3 reps during training camp. That meant getting fewer snaps while working with other bottom-of-the-depth chart players.

So, can Love play? Getting to split the scout-team reps with Boyle throughout the season, the coaches probably have a decent idea.

Grade: Incomplete.

Tim Boyle

No. 69 with $752,000 cap charge

Boyle, with his obvious talent throwing the ball and year of experience in the system, sailed through training camp as the clear winner in the battle – if you want to call it that – with Jordan Love to be the No. 2 quarterback.

Because the Packers were either winning by a lot or, in the case of the loss at Tampa Bay, losing by a lot, Boyle saw action in eight games. He “rushed” 13 times for minus-9 yards and was sacked once and fumbled on his only dropback.

Obviously, nobody wants Rodgers to be injured. But it would be interesting to see how Boyle would handle a starting assignment if given a week of prep.

Grade: Incomplete.