A. Rodgers...Predictions?

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rodgers will return with the 2023 season of his contract voided, “significant say over his future” and “mechanisms will be put in place to address Rodgers’ issues with the team.” The deal will reportedly open up more cap space for the Packers as well.

The brass tacks of the agreement between Rodgers and the Packers is that he’ll be able to decide after this season if he wants to remain in Green Bay or go elsewhere.

So everyone welcome 2022 Minnesota Vikings quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

Just kidding. Maybe.

Here’s how it impacts the Vikings:

— The Vikings enjoyed a very brief run as the favorites for the NFC North. That is now over and their schedule just got harder. Pro Football Focus looked at how much expectations would drop from Rodgers to Love and the answer is a lot. They would go from an 81% chance at the playoffs and 11% odds for the Super Bowl with Rodgers down to 41% for the postseason and 1.5% in the Super Bowl. Green Bay and Tampa Bay are the hands-down favorites for the NFC with Rodgers under center. Rather than being in the mix of teams jockeying for that title, the Vikings are an underdog again.

— The Vikings’ overhauled defense has the benefit of time to come together before seeing the 2020 NFL MVP. Green Bay will play at US Bank Stadium in Week 11 and Week 17, meaning the final stretch of the year will include six of their eight games against playoff teams from last season and road games against San Francisco and Detroit. They will have more than half the season to get the projected seven new starters acclimated.

— Rodgers will be forced to play in front of fans at US Bank Stadium again. He is 2-2 career at Minnesota with an underwhelming 90.6 quarterback rating but last year he threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns in an empty stadium against a revamped defense.

— We may find out in 2022 or we may never find out whether Jordan Love is good. As of today, Rodgers’s deal seems to open up the door for him to either stay or play elsewhere after 2021. Schefter’s report includes a detail that Rodgers and the team will get together and “review” the situation after this year. That could mean that if the bitterness between Rodgers and the Packers is ultimately resolved, he could stay a Packer for life. It could also mean that he pulls a Brett Favre/Peyton Manning/Tom Brady and goes elsewhere for a final shot at another Super Bowl.



— The Packers may operate differently going forward as Rodgers appears to have more power in the decision making process. If Rodgers hadn’t returned, the outlook for Green Bay seemed bleak with the possibility of Davante Adams leaving after this year and Za’Darius Smith reportedly unhappy with his deal. Schefter reported that they could reopen negotiations with Adams because Rodgers’s new deal is creating more cap space. Trey Wingo, a former ESPN personality who is currently with Pro Football Network, said that Rodgers is also requesting the Packers acquire former Green Bay receiver Randall Cobb. If we aren’t entering a post-Rodgers era, we could be entering an era of Rodgers calling the shots.

— It’s hard to say that Rodgers staying increases the pressure on the Vikings in an already-pivotal 2021 season but it does offer a mountain to climb that would make an NFC North title more impressive. As the Vikings are looking to make decisions on their future based on this year, ruining Rodgers’s “Last Dance” would help everyone’s case.

— This may be the final year of a very entertaining rivalry between Mike Zimmer’s defenses and Aaron Rodgers. The Vikings have gone 4-7-1 against Rodgers (excluding the game where he got hurt on the second drive) during Zimmer’s tenure and 8-15-1 against him overall. Fans certainly won’t cry any tears if he ultimately leaves but there would be a little less juice to the rivalry.

There's no way Green Bay would let him leave in 2023 for just a 3rd round compensatory pick at best.