A hypothetical deal for Aaron Rodgers that includes Montez Sweat originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund recently came up with three hypothetical trades involving the Packers' Aaron Rodgers after the star reportedly made it known that he wants out of Green Bay, and in a fortunate turn of events for this very blogger, one of her deals features the Washington Football Team.
After evaluating some of the biggest swaps in league history and also trying to account for where any future draft picks could potentially fall, Frelund ended up presenting this projected blockbuster:
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- Washington receives: Aaron Rodgers
- Green Bay receives: Montez Sweat, two first-round selections, a 2022 second-round selection and a 2022 conditional fourth-round selection
For comparison's sake, ESPN's Bill Barnwell performed a similar exercise a handful of days ago, and he landed on a Burgundy and Gold package consisting of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Ioannidis, two first-round selections and two second-round selections.
So, does the Barnwell exchange seem more preferable than the Frelund flip? Absolutely, because having to part with Sweat at this stage of his career would be painful.
However, as Frelund noted, Sweat's presence could also be enough to sway the Packers if they get to a point where they truly want to offload Rodgers (it feels necessary to note that they don't want to go down that road — yet).
"[Sweat] could add a lot of potential upside value for the Packers right away, and ultimately, they’d be inheriting a rookie contract," Frelund said.
Some of her NFL Network cohorts agreed that the inclusion of Sweat might be enough to push Washington in front of any other clubs interested in Rodgers (Frelund also pitched trades for the Saints and Broncos in her segment).
"The Washington Football Team is deep in their front seven, so they can afford to lose one of their guys," Willie McGinest said. "Player-friendly coach, superstar-friendly owner… It’s a great situation, it’s a great coaching staff and they’re building the team."
"The real kicker here," Ian Rapoport added, "is it’s really hard to find guys with the talent of Montez Sweat."
Head coach Ron Rivera has spoken highly about where his defense is headed as well as how his rebuild of the organization is trending overall, so whether he'd be willing to let go of Sweat and all that draft capital isn't a guarantee. The Packers responding positively to such an offer isn't, either.
However, as McGinest put it, one thing that would be guaranteed is the profound impact Rodgers would have on Washington's outlook. In his mind, pairing that QB with the rest of Rivera's roster equates to one tantalizing future.
"He could be the missing piece," McGinest said.
