Breer: Trading for Aaron Rodgers would blow up Ron Rivera's plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Aaron Rodgers is reportedly unhappy in Green Bay, and even the smallest chance that a future Hall of Fame quarterback is on the market is enough for some teams to drop everything and try to pursue him.
But, should the Washington Football Team -- still in search of a long-term answer at quarterback -- be a part of that faction?
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For Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, it's a complicated question to answer. He's hesitant to say Washington should go all-in for Rodgers based on how Ron Rivera and company have managed the quarterback situation so far in his tenure.
"On one hand, Washington was very measured on the quarterbacks in the draft. Maybe if Justin Fields had slipped a little further, they would’ve done something," Breer wrote. "But I do think the overall idea here is to keep building the roster up, which would allow Ron Rivera & Co. to then drop a young quarterback into a better situation down the line, giving that quarterback the best shot at making it."
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That's precisely what Washington has done this offseason under Rivera. The team bypassed a chance to make a big move at quarterback in free agency or a trade and instead brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick to be a short-term solution. As Breer said, they also stood pat at No. 19 in the NFL Draft rather than moving up for a passer.
A lot of that had to do with the organization's interest in building up other positions around the quarterback without mortgaging a large portion of the future to upgrade one spot.
Given all that, Breer sees the idea of paying the hefty price Rodgers would command as somewhat contradictory to Washington's current trajectory.
"And thus, trading for Rodgers would mean blowing up the plan that Rivera has worked off of for the last 17 months, and jamming the fast forward button," Breer wrote.
However, Breer isn't ready to fully rule Washington out of the potential Rodgers sweepstakes. Why? Because of how Rivera and the team got involved in the pursuit of Matthew Stafford.
The veteran quarterback ended up being traded to Los Angeles Rams, but Washington was a contender and prepared to part with some future picks in order to bring in the passer.
Breer understands that the price for Stafford was not as steep as what Rodgers would cost, and yet if Washington was interested in that veteran quarterback, would it really turn its back on a talent like No. 12?
"Would he [Ron Rivera] do it? I’m not sure," Breer wrote. "But if you view acquiring Stafford as a special opportunity worth shifting course a little for, then getting Rodgers, through the same logic, might merit changing your course altogether."
