Lions Fans Should Be Cheering For An Aaron Rodgers Farewell Tour in the NFC North
Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Some figures in sports are scarier to one franchise than The Boogeyman is to a six-year-old expecting The Tooth Fairy. These players kill a team at every turn, haunting them for years and even decades as a fan base just wishes for them to go away.
While the Detroit Lions may have had that feeling throughout the NFL over the past 20 years,
Aaron Rodgers is one of their biggest villains. Rodgers posted an 18-8 record in 26 career starts against the Lions but that’s only part of the story. He didn’t just beat Detroit. He dominated them, throwing for 252 yards per game with 54 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in those games.
There are even moments that live in the minds of every football fan, including The Miracle in Motown – a 61-yard Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers in 2015 – that is scarier to any Detroit native than your favorite horror flick.
It’s why the possibility of Rodgers coming back to the division may have some Lions fans fearing the worst. But at this stage of his career, Rodgers would be coming back for a farewell tour at the perfect time.
The Rodgers situation is the biggest storyline in the NFL. After the New York Jets ate nearly $50 million in dead money to get rid of him, Rodgers is a free agent for the first time. Teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants are natural fits for a 41-year-old quarterback looking for a desperate team, but The Athletic’s Michael Silver and Dianna Russini can’t stop connecting him to the Minnesota Vikings.
These reports have been greeted with the validity of Al Gore screaming “ManBearPig!” at the gates of Imaginationland, but they have some merit. The Vikings haven’t shot down the report by signing a veteran quarterback to pair with J.J. McCarthy or telling a janitor to call a trusted beat reporter and tell them they’re not interested. But it’s a situation that could be too juicy for the Lions fans to pass up considering how free agency has unfolded.
The Chicago Bears are copying and pasting Dan Campbell’s formula with Ben Johnson in charge, but it might take two or three years for that to produce results. The Green Bay Packers went wild in free agency by adding Nate Hobbs and Aaron Banks, but it might not be enough to elevate a team that went 1-5 in the division last season, including two losses to the Lions.
Then there are the Vikings, who had one of the league’s best offseasons. Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave shored up one weakness on the interior of the defensive line. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries solved the interior of their offensive line, which other teams have used as an express lane to get to the quarterback for the past decade.
All of this was added to a team that went 14-3 last season and now gets to use the rookie quarterback window that helped Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts reach a Super Bowl early in their careers. Adding McCarthy to the mix could be the final piece but it’s not the brand name that Rodgers is, even at this stage of his career.
Just like the Lions, Rodgers has tormented the Vikings for years. Kevin O’Connell hasn’t been there the entire time but he knows what a quarterback like Rodgers can do. O’Connell isn’t going anywhere after signing a contract extension in January but he knows that the Vikings have a Super Bowl caliber roster.
Would it be smart to trust that roster with a quarterback who hasn’t been getting practice reps since last summer due to injury? Or would it be a better idea to go for it with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time? It may be something that makes him ditch his long-term plan with McCarthy even if it’s just for one year.
The problem here is that Rodgers isn’t the same quarterback we all know. Since winning back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers has completed just 63.7% of his passes for 7,592 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Even if last season’s stats with the Jets (3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 63% completion rate) look good, it came with a 5-12 record and more baggage than a bachelorette party traveling to Nashville.
The Jets asked Rodgers to stop going to Egypt during OTAs and throwing people under the bus on The Pat McAfee Show and he said “No.” The Vikings’ culture could help overcome any of the sideshow stuff but it could also burn everything to the ground, opening the door for the Lions to pull away and literally walk to the division title once again.
That scenario involves playing against Rodgers twice, but that doesn’t feel like a burden at this stage of his career. After years of torment, Rodgers is no longer The Boogeyman to the Lions and having him back in the division could be an advantage no one saw coming.
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