Aaron is just too into himself

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He’s gone. We’d better learn how to face it. 

When word started circulating on the opening day of the NFL draft that Aaron Rodgers wanted to be traded it started a series of events that probably can’t be reversed. The Packers pretty much have to give him the divorce he wants. 

Sure, he’s still under contract and, given that he’s still playing well enough to win an MVP award last year, he’s not likely to want to retire. But he could sulk. That’s what he did in the last couple of years under coach Mike McCarthy when McCarthy wasn’t giving him what he wanted. When your star quarterback just isn’t feeling it, the whole team looks wilted. The Packers just can’t afford to have an ill-tempered Rodgers around the locker room. He’s gotta go. 

And, no, you can’t blame the Packers’ front office for this. Rodgers is angry with his team for doing something perfectly reasonable: Last year they dared to draft a young quarterback, Jordan Love, who could be his heir apparent. Given that Rodgers is now 37 and given that players get injured playing football, this made a lot of sense. 

In fact, it had a dividend. Rodgers was so angered by the move, or threatened by Love, that he performed better than he had in years. I hate to find myself standing with the management of any pro sports franchise, but what can I say? They were just right to draft Love. 

Rodgers whines that they didn’t give him a heads up about drafting another quarterback. Yes, they should have. But really? That’s enough to get your nose so out of joint that you demand a trade? 

And, by the way, it was the team’s pick of Rodgers himself back in 2005 that set off Brett Favre, resulting in that ugly breakup a few years later. Rodgers doesn’t get the irony of that? A responsible adult would have not only used Love’s presence as motivation to perform better, but also taken the new guy under his wing to develop him as his eventual successor. That would have been the classy thing to do, but it wasn’t in Rodgers. 

In the world of professional sports the only people who get taken for granted are the fans (also known as the people who pay all the bills). What would be best for Packers fans would be to keep a happy, productive Rodgers on the team. But it’s too late for that. Either he gets traded or we get the unmotivated Rodgers who will infect the whole team. So, the best thing for the fans is to trade him, probably to a West Coast team, which is where he wants to be anyway. 

One intriguing idea is to trade him even up for the Seahawks (and former Badgers) quarterback Russell Wilson. NBC Sports writer Peter Socotch calls this speculation “lazy and unrealistic.” I don’t understand his point. Without lazy and unrealistic speculation, how could any of us talk about sports at all? 

Despite how badly Rodgers has treated us and despite knowing it’s for the best, this will still be hard on us. I suggest we invite Danica Patrick to spend a week touring Wisconsin so that we can all share stories of our initial hurt, then our anger, and ultimately our healing over breaking up with Aaron Rodgers. 

We’ll get through this together, people. We had some good times, but he was just too into himself to make it work forever. Someday we’ll find a quarterback who respects us for who we are.

[Editor's note: This post was edited to delete the contention that Aaron Rodgers leaked that he wanted to be traded.]