Aaron Rodgers’ 2025 soap opera is barely beginning. Just a few days after his departure from the New York Jets, the star signal-caller listed the requirements for his next team. In the opinion of analyst Mike Florio, this automatically ruled out the favorite team to sign the 21-season veteran: the Las Vegas Raiders.
A little over a week ago, the Jets surprised media and fans by announcing Rodgers’ departure from the organization. Without further explanation, the team decided to show the Super Bowl XLV champion the exit after two seasons of poor results, which weighed on the player’s and the team’s statistics.
Since the announcement, the media has been speculating non-stop about his possible destination, with the Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Los Angeles Rams as the favorites of bettors to give Rodgers another chance. However, after the quarterback’s recent statements, Florio advised erasing the Raiders from the pools.
The Raiders have no chance: Florio
In a recent episode of NFL on NBC, the founder of Pro Football Talk asked, “Why would he [Rodgers] want to play for the Raiders?” Furthermore, Florio questioned Las Vegas’ chances of at least making the playoffs.
“All due respect to the Raiders, but as of right now, I think an objective assessment of the Raiders organization would be, ‘We’re a solid fourth out of four in the AFC West.’ You got three playoff teams in the division; why would you go to the Raiders if you want to win?” Florio noted.
This goes against one of Rodgers’ requirements to sign with a team. The first, the quarterback said, is that they “want me,” and the second is that they “are good.” But as Florio noted, the Raiders are far from a contender, even for a wild-card berth.
The Brady factor
Even after their crushing Super Bowl loss, the Chiefs remain the division’s heavy favorite. The Chargers and Broncos entered last season’s playoffs with 11-6 and 10-7 records, respectively, well above the Raiders’ modest 4-13 record.
There are high expectations that the arrival of Tom Brady as a minority shareholder will bring big changes to the Raiders’ organizational culture. But Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion, not a miracle worker. If Rodgers wants to land with a contender, he’ll have to look in another direction.
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