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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is not one to shy away from a challenge. That’s true even if said challenge came via Aaron Rodgers.
By now, it’s well known that the reigning NFL MVP has requested to be traded from the Green Bay Packers. Two AFC West teams in that of the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos are seen as favorites to land the future first ballot Hall of Famer.
If that were to happen, Mahomes wouldn’t have any issue with it. In fact, he’d welcome the challenge.
“Obviously, it’d be awesome,” Mahomes told Bleacher Report. “To have that challenge two times a year, every single year would be a great, great opportunity. I mean, he’s a heck of a football player. He’s been doing it for a long time that I’ve watched play and learned a lot from. But definitely, if he came to the AFC West, it would just make it a little tougher for us, but we’re up to the challenge.”
That’s a pretty awesome approach for Mahomes to take. Even then, Kansas City would still be odds-on favorites in the AFC West if the Broncos or Raiders were to land Aaron Rodgers. It might make things more difficult within the division, but there’s absolutely no reason to believe Mahomes wouldn’t be up to the task.
Will Aaron Rodgers be traded?
A recent report suggests that the Packers have no intention of dealing Rodgers despite his trade request becoming public record just over a month ago.
That could very well change should Rodgers remain away from the Packers’ offseason activities and opt to hold out of training camp. Green Bay might think it’s in the driver’s seat here, but that’s a surface-based belief. Simply put, Rodgers can force his way out of town should he continue to remain vocal about the direction of the Packers’ organization under embattled general manager Brian Gutekunst.
Rodgers, 37, listed three teams he’d prefer a trade to. In addition to the Broncos and Raiders, that list included the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately for the Northern California native, San Francisco’s decision to select Trey Lance No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft pretty much put an end to that idea. Remember, Rodgers thought he was headed to the 49ers on the eve of the aforementioned draft.
If Aaron Rodgers is dead set on leaving the Packers, he might have to expand his list of potential teams to include the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints. However, it seems as if the future first ballot Hall of Famer wants to play on the west coast.
As for Rodgers pushing the Packers to trade him, a recent reports suggests that he’s already reached out to rival players to form a super team outside of Wisconsin. Rodgers also told some teammates early last season that he would not be back in Green Bay long-term.
The root issue here is Green Bay’s decision to trade up for Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and its unwillingness to commit to Aaron Rodgers long-term. Player personnel decisions have also been seen as a major cause for the rift between the reigning NFL MVP and his Packers organization.