The New York Jets revealed on Thursday that the franchise is splitting from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
With Rodgers’ time at the Jets ending, it didn’t take long for some to start connecting the dots between Rodgers and the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook listed the Raiders as the top team on a list of Rodgers’ potential landing spots.
Obviously, it’s all contingent upon Rodgers deciding whether or not he still wants to keep playing football. If he does, would the Raiders make sense?
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin broke down the pros and cons of Rodgers’ potential landing spots and shared his thoughts on the match with the Raiders.
Benjamin’s pros for the Raiders bringing in Rodgers are in line with the argument that most would make. Las Vegas just hired an older coach and Rodgers gives the franchise a good chance to win now.
The Raiders need someone — anyone — under center, and they’ve got loads of cap space to spend on potential upgrades up front and out wide. New coach Pete Carroll insisted Las Vegas is focused on winning immediately, and that makes sense, considering he’s 73. Rodgers, whose sheer volume of experience could attract new minority owner Tom Brady, could make for a perfect short-term partner. – Benjamin, CBS Sports.
Per Over The Cap, the Raiders have $85 million in effective cap space to get aggressive with during this free agency period. Adding Rodgers and several other key offensive weapons could radically shift the Raiders’ offensive outlook overnight.
But, Benjamin asks a prudent question when addressing the cons.
Even if it required a trade up, the Raiders are decently positioned to address quarterback in the draft, owning the No. 6 overall pick. And while they’ve got money to spend, young tight end Brock Bowers is one of their few Grade-A building blocks on offense. Is this the right time to go all in on an aging passer? – Benjamin, CBS Sports.
If there’s interest from the Raiders for Rodgers’ services, it makes plenty of sense for the reasons discussed above.
Ultimately, it may just boil down to how patient the Raiders’ front office is or isn’t willing to be at quarterback.
It is likely that the Jets will release Rodgers as a post-June 1 designation, which allows the franchise to split the remaining cap charges over the next two seasons. In order to do that, the Jets will have to carry Rodgers on the roster until March 12, the start of the league year.
Then, Rodgers will be free to sign elsewhere on March 13.