Last Wednesday in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers discussed with reporters the discontent that had made it appear during the offseason that the reigning NFL MVP was headed elsewhere.
The following day, news broke about the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Russell Westbrook.
Both incidents, while seemingly unrelated, spoke volumes about player empowerment. How it has its place, but also has its limits.
Very early in his remarks Rodgers rattled off a list of 12 former teammates — “core players to our foundation” — he felt should have been retained by the team, or at least treated better on the way out the door.
His point being that after last season, he had made clear to the Packers’ front office that he wanted to be “more involved in conversations directly affecting (his) job” and “help the organization learn from some of the mistakes of the past.”
Slippery slope here. On one hand, it seems fitting that a player of Rodgers’ stature have a say in personnel decisions.
On the other, I’m just not sure how good such players are at making them.
That’s true not only of Rodgers but also of someone like LeBron James, who has always been strongly suspected of serving as de facto GM of the team for which he plays. As an example, consider this June 16, 2019 tweet from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who noted that from July 2010 to that day, there had been 42 trades made by the team employing James — 11 by Miami, 27 by Cleveland and four by the Lakers.
A few weeks later Los Angeles finalized a deal bringing Anthony Davis, a six-time All-Star to that point in his career, from New Orleans. And then, of course, there was the trade with Washington for Westbrook, who has made nine All-Star teams himself.
So what LeBron wants, LeBron gets. And maybe that’s as it should be, since he (like Rodgers) will get the lion’s share of the blame when their clubs’ fortunes sag.
But maybe not.
While Westbrook brings obvious star power, there are serious questions as to how he might mesh with James and Davis on the court, given his volatility and shortcomings as a shooter. And those questions won’t be alleviated if, as has been reported, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and/or Carmelo Anthony land in Los Angeles as well.
Similarly, the Packers swung a trade last week for wide receiver Randall Cobb — one of the 12 players mentioned by Rodgers in his presser — solely to mollify the QB. It’s not a terrible move, as Cobb, 30, has always been a productive player and solid citizen, but it didn’t appear to be necessary from a football standpoint, seeing as the team filled a need for a slot receiver — Cobb’s best position — by drafting Amari Rodgers in April.
And let us consider the other 11 guys Aaron Rodgers wanted the Packers to keep. Julius Peppers was 37 when he left Green Bay. Charles Woodson was 36, and John Kuhn 34. Clay Matthews managed 3.5 sacks his final season with the team, while Jordy Nelson averaged a paltry 9.1 yards per catch in his swan song.
Long snapper Brett Goode, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, wide receiver James Jones and guard T.J. Lang were also north of 30 when they departed, and Bulaga has a checkered injury history. You could make arguments for defensive backs Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde being retained, as they were both entering their prime when they left, though both were offered free-agent deals (by San Diego and Buffalo, respectively) that the Packers couldn’t (or wouldn’t) match.
The point is that players, even those as good and as smart as Rodgers, might not be best-suited to making personnel decisions. It’s impossible for them to be impartial, impossible for them to see things through the same eyes as a dispassionate front-office type. Moreover, you simply can’t keep everybody around forever. Jerry Glanville, former coach of the Falcons and Oilers, was right when he said NFL stands for “Not For Long.” Guys get old. Guys get hurt. Guys lose their mojo. The roster churn is constant.
Certainly, though, Rodgers’ loyalty to his former teammates will play well with his current ones. The guy went to bat for the rank and file, and they will certainly do the same for him. But like James, it’s debatable as to how much say he should have in who lines up alongside him. He’s great at his job — one of the best to ever do it — but he should probably stick to that, and leave the roster decisions to others.