All of the talk surrounding the Green Bay Packers this offseason has involved disgruntled quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer and reigning league MVP is away from the team and seemingly has no plans of returning to play for the organization. Could the Packers look to make some moves, such as trading for Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Andrew Norwell, to entice him to come back with a better supporting cast?
Green Bay will assuredly exhaust every avenue they can to mend the relationship with their franchise icon. While there isn’t a light at the tunnel, there are a few things the brain trust can do in the meantime. One of them would be to continue upgrading the roster no matter who is under center.
The Packers suffered a big loss along their offensive line in free agency as center Corey Linsley signed a monster contract with the Los Angeles Chargers. Linsley signed a five-year, $62.5 million deal with the Chargers, making him the highest-paid center in the NFL. This followed the departure of long-time right tackle, Bryan Bulaga, who also signed with the Chargers in 2020.
Green Bay selected two offensive linemen in the 2021 NFL Draft, Royce Newman out of Ole Miss with the No. 142 pick and Cole Van Lanen out of Wisconsin with the 214th pick. While they could help the team down the line, adding an established, veteran presence in the middle of the offensive line would go a long way.
Finding established offensive linemen isn’t an easy task, but the Packers could get aggressive on the trade market. One player they could target is Andrew Norwell of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The offer from the Packers to the Jaguars would be a 2022 second-round pick in exchange for their starting left guard.
Norwell would be an immediate upgrade on the interior of the offensive line for Green Bay and help protect whoever is starting at quarterback. He is also someone that is reportedly on the trade block, as CBS Sports Jason La Canfora reports that the rebuilding Jaguars want to move on from Norwell because of his salary.
Norwell broke the bank when he signed with the Jaguars in 2018, leaving the Carolina Panthers for a five-year, $65 million contract. This move for the Jaguars would have nothing to do with performance, as Norwell played at a high level in 2020, allowing only three sacks on 800-plus snaps.
While one move won’t ease things over between Rodgers and the organization, this would be a step in the right direction in making their franchise quarterback feel better.
