Let's take it back to the offseason of 2023 for a moment, shall we? The Las Vegas Raiders were rumored to be interested in an Aaron Rodgers trade after Tom Brady made his retirement official.
Obviously, Las Vegas' situation at the quarterback position was far from solved. That's why it made sense for the team to be in on Rodgers. Moving on from Derek Carr and not having a clear path forward made things difficult.
Yet, the Raiders ended up missing out on Rodgers as well as the top rookie passers in both the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts. Instead, it ended up being a combination of Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew for the immediate future.
While Las Vegas' long-term quarterback plans are still not set, missing out on Rodgers doesn't look all that bad now. At the time, it would have felt a whole lot better to have landed Rodgers, but now seeing the way it's all worked out ... an enormous bullet was dodged.
For those who haven't necessarily been paying attention to the New York Jets, they're currently a train wreck. Rodgers' first season in New York was lost because of injury and, now in his second season with the Jets, things have gone even further downhill.
The Raiders' future looks much brighter having not landed Aaron Rodgers
To start out this season, the Jets quickly fired head coach Robert Saleh. That didn't seem to do anything. So, the team then went out and traded serious draft capital for wide receiver Davante Adams -- oh, look, yet another benefit from missing out on Rodgers.
And, when things still didn't improve, the Jets then went out and fired their general manager, Joe Douglas, earlier this week.
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Now without a permanent head coach or general manager, the Jets are in a firm rebuild. There is no question about it. A new head coach and general manager are unlikely to want to start out their tenure in New York with a 41-year-old Rodgers but, instead, go out and get their own franchise quarterback.
Just think, this could have been the Raiders. Instead of the Jets going out and signing/trading for some of Rodgers' old buddies and hiring coaches he was familiar with, it would have been the Raiders.
It could have been the Raiders wasting time, money, draft capital and ultimately firing those in charge.
Instead, Las Vegas is in better position going forward. Even though we might still see another coaching change, the team has their draft capital intact, plus additional picks from the Davante Adams and Jamal Adams trades as well.
Imagine the Raiders being 2-8 under even worse circumstances, if you could. Sure, 2-8 feels pretty awful. But, being 2-8 with an aging, expensive veteran quarterback being responsible for your team's every move and left out to dry in 2025?
Big yikes.