49ers rumors: Niners tried to trade for Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

As if the 49ers didn’t have enough smoke surrounding them ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, a recent report suggests Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was the target.

At this point, San Francisco 49ers fans’ heads must be getting close to exploding.

For weeks, the speculation surrounding what the Niners are going to do with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has consumed both the media and the fanbase. One day, it’s Alabama quarterback Mac Jones who’ll be the hand-picked choice by head coach Kyle Shanahan. Another, it’s Ohio State’s quarterback, Justin Fields, who’ll be the pick. And then, just like that, North Dakota State QB Trey Lance is suddenly the favorite.

Oh, how about throwing in the reigning NFL MVP, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, into the mix?

Bill Michaels of Wisconsin’s 105.7 FM The Fan originally reported San Francisco offered up the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, along with “a number of players from their current roster including [Jimmy] Garoppolo” to the Packers in exchange for Rodgers only to be turned down.

Not long afterwards, there was a decent back and forth on Twitter whether or not there was any truth to the matter.

But when NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero corroborated the report, it suddenly carried a bit more weight:

Granted, Pelissero didn’t add what exactly the 49ers offered to Green Bay. But it at least appears as if Shanahan and general manager John Lynch proverbially “shot their shot” to get the future Hall of Fame quarterback originally from Northern California.

Rodgers, 37 years old, hasn’t been able to get over the playoff hump against the Niners, having lost to them in the postseason three times now, including a one-sided 37-20 defeat at Levi’s Stadium during the 2020 NFC Championship game which propelled San Francisco into Super Bowl LIV.

Justifying the 49ers’ attempt to land Aaron Rodgers

In one regard, the 49ers would be landing a bona fide perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro in Rodgers, who despite his age, could easily keep Shanahan’s Super Bowl window open for the next two or three years with ease.

Especially with both the Packers and Niners running similar offensive systems.

And while it might be attractive for San Francisco to land a young prospective quarterback like a Fields or Lance at No. 3, it’s always important to note that rookie remains a project regardless of the promise and hype until he’s able to prove otherwise on the field.

Rodgers is, well… Rodgers. Little more needs to be said.

It’s anyone’s guess whether or not there was any true seriousness about the report. Or, if anything, the 49ers were playing the “let’s just see what comes of it” game by inquiring of Green Bay’s general manager, Brian Gutekunst, likely expecting to get shot down anyway.

Regardless, one more wild story in an offseason filled with wild stories surrounding the Niners leading up to the draft.

Update: According to a report from Pro Football Talk, Rodgers apparently wanted the Packers to accept the Niners’ offer in a would-be trade but also listed the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders as other destinations:

Enough craziness for the day?