The 2022 season was a disaster for the Denver Broncos. They made a huge splash acquiring Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks during the offseason that just didn’t pan out. Things went so poorly that Nathaniel Hackett was fired as head coach after one season on the job.

This offseason, Denver made another splash, acquiring head coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints. There is optimism that Payton can help turn around an offense that was among the worst in the NFL last season despite not lacking talent.

That disastrous season could have been avoided had the trade the Broncos thought they had completed gone through. According to a former NFL executive that spoke to NFL Analysis Network, Denver nearly acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers last offseason before pivoting to a deal for Wilson.

“The Broncos almost had a trade completed with the Packers for Aaron Rodgers before it fell through last-minute. Green Bay opted to run it back for one more season with Rodgers. The deal would have included three first-round picks, Drew Lock, and Jerry Jeudy. Denver pivoted to acquire Russell Wilson with a slightly lesser trade package.”

This is something many people hypothesized had occurred. Selecting Hackett to become their next head coach felt like a move aimed at making the transition for Rodgers an easy one; Hackett had just overseen two MVP seasons for Rodgers as the Packers’ offensive coordinator. There was also the chance that Davante Adams would have eventually joined up with him in Denver as well.

The price to get that done was steep, as three first-round picks, Lock and Jeudy, are a lot of assets to surrender. Wilson cost five draft picks and three players, but only two first-round picks were included. But, it would be hard to envision Rodgers having as poor of a season as Wilson did under Hackett.

That is a deal Green Bay likely regrets just as much not signing off on. They missed the playoffs in what turned out to be Rodgers’ final season with the team, as he was traded to the New York Jets a few weeks ago.

Alas, hindsight is 20/20. The Seahawks ended up being the biggest winners in this ordeal, as they are in the best position to compete as soon as possible compared to the Broncos and Packers, who have some hurdles to overcome.

https://www.nflanalysis.net/broncos-nearly-acquired-aaron-rodgers-before-russell-wilson-trade/ 

The Broncos certainly gave up more than the Jets did and would of been a better year. And Love would have gotten actually playing time.

Though, would we have gotten out QB coach back? He came back for Rodgers and QBs just seem to get better under him.

But, I still think they should of benched Rodgers while his thumb healed and gotten Love some more reps last year.

Originally Posted by: beast 

So I don't think we kept Rodgers to honor Rodgers, I think we kept Rodgers because it was the safest route for management... maybe specifically Mark Murphy, whom is trying to wrap up his career and ride into the sunset. He doesn't want a major conflict nor major controversy, as he finishes his career.

Originally Posted by: beast 

What is this in response to? I know I mentioned something about there being times I wondered if the Packers were trying to "honor" Rodgers by letting him play through the thumb injury during 2022 while also assuming it was his final year in the NFL. 

Your remark about retaining Rodgers as the safer option is exactly what I opined on a Bears forum earlier this morning. I also said that I felt the push came from Mark Murphy to keep Rodgers.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is among the speakers at this week’s Psychedelic Science conference in Denver. 

Billed as “the largest psychedelic conference in history,” the conference advocates for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, which some experts say can be beneficial in mental health treatment.

Rodgers is speaking about his experience with ayahuasca, which he said last year that he had used and benefited from. The NFL and NFL Players Association are in agreement that nothing in the league’s policies prevents players from using ayahuasca. 

Although federal law bans psychedelics, their potential for treating PTSD in veterans has found support from an unlikely alliance of members of Congress, including Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Matt Gaetz. Both Colorado and Oregon have recently decriminalized the use of psychedelic mushrooms.

Response to what you said.

Originally Posted by: beast 

Speaking of Rodgers in Denver, he apparently is speaking at a psychedelic conference in Denver. 

Originally Posted by: beast 

Alas, hindsight is 20/20. The Seahawks ended up being the biggest winners in this ordeal, as they are in the best position to compete as soon as possible compared to the Broncos and Packers, who have some hurdles to overcome.