Should the Miami Dolphins be interested in Aaron Rodgers?
That’s not the the question.
What’s he worth?
That’s the question.
Of course you should want the league’s Most Valuable Player - at least if you want to contend for the next three to five years. That’s forever in today’s NFL. So of course you make the call to Green Bay if you’re Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier. Of course you ask what he would cost - if, in fact, Green Bay would move him after he told ESPN he wants a trade.
Rodgers, at 37, isn’t worth what Deshaun Watson is worth at 25. Watson (at least what Watson was worth before his alleged legal issues). Watson has one more contract-friendly year, too.
The question, then, is how much you want Rodgers.
I want him enough to give the Dolphins’ No. 18 pick this year, their first-round pick next year and the highest of the Dolphins’ two first-round picks in 2023.
That lets you get an impact player at No. 6 and makes you an instant contender. That’s what you do if you’re ready to make he leap. And I off-set some of that cost by trading Tua Tagovailoa for a second-round pick right now.
Here’s what would be brutal: If San Francisco flips that No. 3 pick for Rodgers. If the Dolphins made that trade from No. 3 to No. 6 effectively for the 49ers’ No. 1 pick in 2023. That’d would look bad.
“It’s not the plan,’' is what some Dolphins fans will say about trading for Rodgers..
The plan is to get a premier quarterback and win. Rodgers does that. You can get a young quarterback and groom him next off-season or the year after.
The thing is, Rodgers wanting out is surprise. He was upset the Packers drafted Jordan Love last year rather than give him help. He called his future in Green Bay a “beautiful mystery” at the start of the off-season. He has done nothing to settle the issue since then.
Most NFL people expected him out next off-season, though. Not now. Not until he told Adam Schefter he wants out.
Make the call, Chris Grier.
See the cost.
Weigh the bill.
You want to change the franchise? This would do it.
