Will Jordan Love ever see the field with the Green Bay Packers? There are a variety of reasons why the team would be better off swapping him for something more useful for the short-term outlook of the team.

Salary cap problems may force Packers to restructure Aaron Rodgers' contract

The Packers are in a tough spot, salary cap-wise. Despite not making a single free agent addition so far, they are 25th in 2021 cap space. Next year they drop to 31st. The year after that? 26th.

Next offseason, Jaire Alexander and Davante Adams become free agents. The Packers are not working with much room, and while the roster is clearly almost good enough to win a Super Bowl, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Luckily, the Packers reportedly have a plan to clear up some cap. It has been said that they were looking to restructure Aaron Rodgers’s contract. That would clear some short-term cap space, but it would make it more difficult to move him in the future. But is it really a problem to be locked in with Rodgers for a couple more seasons?

Aaron  Rodgers still looks like he'll  be elite for a few more years

Packers, Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers is coming off an MVP season–one where he played in a very different style than he has in the past. The sandlot improv plays were largely replaced with pinpoint accuracy from the pocket. The Packers took the second fewest sacks in the league in 2020. Usually they're above average in that category, one of the downsides to him holding the ball so long trying to create something down the field.

Rodgers' game with Matt LaFleur should age well. He is 37 years old, QBs are able to throw into their 40s nowadays, and his arm is even stronger than Brady, Manning and Brees. Rodgers is under contract for three more years, and it looks like he can provide high level play for all three of those years

Jordan Love demands

So where does that leave Jordan Love? Love would be riding the bench for three more years on a team that needs just a little boost to win a Super Bowl. Right now, Love could almost certainly be flipped for a first round pick. Love for a first. Which of these teams are saying no: Carolina Panthers (Love + Pick 29), Chicago Bears, Washington Football Team and Pittsburgh Steelers?

With Deshaun Watson potentially not being a viable trade option, it could increase the demand for Love. Every team mentioned have decent rosters, but the QB position is a void. If Love was in this year’s draft class, one of those teams would almost certainly take a first-round shot at him.

Love’s 2019 season was mediocre at best, but the emergence of Justin Herbert so quickly may give teams hope that the raw ability will translate and the flaws had more to do with coaching/supporting cast.

There will be more Jordan Loves in the future for the Packers to draft. We aren’t talking about a generational prospect here. The front office loved Deshone Kizer and was reportedly very close to selecting him in 2017/ For what it's worth, Kizer and Love were similar prospects.

They will have more opportunities to draft a strong-armed project for the future, but if they want to win a Super Bowl in this small window when they are loaded with top 10 players all over the roster, they have a Super Bowl window right now. That’s not guaranteed to ever even happen in the Jordan Love era. They should take full advantage, even if it means giving up on Love.

More Jordan Loves in the future

The Packers organization has a history of success letting QB’s sit for a few years. After all, that’s what Rodgers did.

However, the situations are different: Rodgers was supposed to go first overall and fell, Love was more of a second, late first round guy and they traded up. In 2004, there wasn’t much of a precedent for guys playing into their 40s, like there is now, and Favre wasn’t coming off an MVP season. Also, the sheer odds that Love is even half as good as Rodgers or Favre is such a longshot. Most teams don’t have two QBs that good in the history of the franchise.

Jordan Love, Packers

Assuming Love is going to be like Rodgers just because he sat behind him is foolish.

Love’s contract doesn’t make much sense currently anyway. If the plan is to restructure and keep Rodgers until 2023  then let him walk, Love’s four years will have run out. The huge benefit of a rookie QB are those cheap years. In 2024, they would get 17 games to figure out if Love is worth extending to a massive deal. It’s just not an efficient way to handle a rookie deal.

You can get the full benefits of having a rookie on a cheap deal by trading Love drafting one later. You can help out the current team by trading Love and drafting one later. And honestly, considering Love’s 2019 film, you may even be helping out the future team by trading Love and drafting one later.

For trading Love to massively backfire, Love would have to end up being elite, Rodgers would have to collapse in the next three years, and the draft pick that Love netted would have to end up being a bust. Trading Love could be a win for both teams involved in the deal. It just makes too much sense.