Analyst says Packers should rebuild with Aaron Rodgers trade haul

The Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay may be coming to an end, but two-time Super Bowl champion and defensive end-turned-NFL analyst Chris Long believes that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

On a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Long made the case for Green Bay to trade the former four-time NFL MVP during the offseason and use the trade compensation to build around third-year quarterback Jordan Love.

"It might be time to get out, and it might not matter what Jordan Love looks like,” Long said. “…If we feel good about our weapons, and we feel good about Jordan Love to the point where we can move Aaron Rodgers, I don’t think that’s the craziest thing in the world. I think Aaron Rodgers would go for a haul, and you could kind of reset with a quarterback if you like him or not.”

Any trade shipping Rodgers out of Green Bay would likely bring back multiple draft picks back, which the Packers could use to build around its solid core of young players including Love, rookie wideouts Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, 26-year-old receiver Allen Lazard, running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, who are 27 and 24, respectively, and an offensive line with an average age of just 24.5.

Rodgers is dealing with a broken thumb and an oblique injury, and many have called for the Packers to shut him down and heal while finding out if Love is a legitimate piece of the team’s long-term future.

The 24-year-old former first-round pick has played sparingly in nine games over the last two seasons, but he saw his most significant action this season in last week’s 40-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in which he completed 6 of 9 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, nearly leading Green Bay back from a 14-point deficit.