Money is flowing in the NFL. Big-time money. First Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. gets paid, then the Bengals reward their two outstanding defensive linemen, Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins, with new deals, then the Seahawks sign receiver Tyler Lockett to an extension and now, finally, Aaron Rodgers receives the motherload of all contracts, one that makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL. And this all went down before noon Pacific time on Wednesday. Wow, what a fun day. It’s a great time to be a great player in the NFL.
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Rodgers deserves this $134 million extension, which comes with a $57.5 million signing bonus. Once Kirk Cousins got his massive deal from the Vikings and Matt Ryan re-upped with the Falcons, it was only a matter of time before the Packers QB would be making a huge deposit into his checking account. The man wins games. He makes big plays in the passing game, protects the ball, makes the players around him better and can run the game from the line of scrimmage. Rodgers has not thrown double-digit interceptions since 2010 when he threw 10, and he only has one losing season in his NFL career. For me, Rodgers is the best player in football — period.
And paying the best player in football is never hard. In fact, it’s fun to pay for greatness. Even if you want to debate about whether or not he’s the clear No. 1, absolutely no one can argue against the fact that Rodgers is in the top three of all current NFL quarterbacks, and being in that category means you get paid handsomely.
What kills teams is not paying for greatness, it’s paying for mediocrity. Being able to tell the difference between good and great is never easy, and those mistakes can be costly, especially at the quarterback position. Most teams struggle to get these evaluations correct. Hall of Fame 49ers coach Bill Walsh often said about NFL quarterbacks: “Very few can evaluate them, and even fewer can coach them.” He is right; We see more misses at that position than any other in the NFL, and those misses result in time and money lost. The Packers, quite clearly, paid for excellence. And if you want to look at where the genesis of that deal came from, you might only need to take a look one state over, to a deal the Packers’ NFC North rival made a few months earlier.
Kirk Cousins is a good quarterback, not a great one, but supply and demand, combined with the Redskins’ mishandling of his contract, allowed him to become wealthy. Yes, the Vikings overpaid Cousins (above) in March with a three-year, fully guaranteed deal at $84 million, but I understand why they did. They had no other choice. Case Keenum is not an elite quarterback and their medical staff had concerns about Teddy Bridgewater (more about him later) ever coming back from his injury. They needed an instant answer, as they have a Super Bowl contending team right now. They believed if they could add more production from their quarterback position moving forward — and if their defense can avoid having another meltdown in the biggest game of the year — they’ll be realistically vying for a Super Bowl again this season. Cousins does not have to be Aaron Rodgers-levels of great; he just has to play within the framework of the Vikings’ offense.
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They Vikings know who they are as a team. With Mike Zimmer as head coach, Minnesota will be tough-minded, well-coached in three phases, and will control the line of scrimmage. And most importantly, they are going to try to always play from in front. They want to get the lead early in the game and allow their defense to create turnovers as opposing offenses press to play catch up. Last year, they were fifth in first-half point differential, (points scored in the first half vs points allowed. Normally, the best teams in football are ranked high in this statistic. The Patriots were number one and the Eagles two during the 2017 season).
Cousins was exceptional last year when he played from in front. Unfortunately, in Washington, Cousins was always playing from behind. Cousins threw 253 passes when he was trailing in games and threw nine of his 13 picks when he was trailing. Carson Wentz, by contrast, threw only 135 passes when playing from behind and had two picks. Now, many of you say it’s the quarterback’s job to get the lead and that is true to a certain degree. But it’s really hard for quarterbacks to play from behind in the NFL. Defenses take more chances by applying more pressure and forcing the offense into mistakes. Yes, fourth-quarter comebacks look great for the quarterback, but most of them would rather just always play from in front like Wentz and Nick Foles did last year.
The NFC North now has great wealth and talent at the quarterback position, with Rodgers back along with Matthew Stafford in Detroit, Cousins in Minnesota and perhaps an improved Mitchell Trubisky in Chicago. The richest of them all, (in talent and now in income), Rodgers deserved his payday … and he owes a slight thank you to Cousins for it.
Now the fun begins to determine who wins the North. Like Green Bay, my money is on Rodgers.
The Other Big Move of the Day:
When Teddy Bridgewater destroyed his knee in a non-contact injury before the 2016 season was set to start, not many medical personnel who worked on the injury believed he would ever play football again. Bridgewater worked hard to come back, putting the time and effort into his rehab with no assurances he would ever return. All the while, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer always believed he’d be his starter, and never wanted to let Bridgewater leave town. The medical staff had a different view. The feeling around the team was that Bridgewater would never be the same, and they could never sign off on allowing the Vikings to risk investing money into Bridgewater. And that pained Zimmer — greatly. The tough-minded coach almost had tears in his eyes when Bridgewater left.
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Many around the NFL saw Bridgewater as damaged goods — a great kid with a bad knee. The Giants hired Pat Shurmur as their head coach and still never made a move to sign the QB. Shurmur had been there watching Bridgewater every single day when he was with the Vikings, and he heard the doom and gloom assessment from the medical staff. In the end, he believed the risk far outweighed the reward. Instead, the other team in New York signed Bridgewater to a one-year deal in March.
And this summer proved the naysayers may have been wrong after all. Bridgewater (above) showed he still had it from his first preseason game with the Jets. He was light on his feet, moved well, showed speed and quickness, and played without fear. His eye level was down the field looking for the open receiver, not looking at the rush. What appeared to many as the Jets taking a huge risk last March by signing him has now has paid off handsomely for them as well as for the New Orleans Saints.
After Wednesday’s trade between the two teams, the Jets get a third-round pick to add to their asset portfolio to help them collect talent to build around their soon-to-be named rookie starter Sam Darnold. The Saints get their transition player, the one who will help them move from 39-year-old Drew Brees to another talented player at quarterback without having to take a huge step backward. Yes, Brees just signed a new contract for two more seasons and still is playing at a high level, but what the Saints did Wednesday was what I was urging the Giants to do in my column Tuesday. Set yourself up for the future.
The Saints did not make this deal to rent Teddy. They made this deal to have him be a part of their organization for the future. Giving up a third-rounder is telling — yes, they could get a comp 3 back if Bridgewater left, but that’s the worst-case scenario.
Bridgewater will work with one of the best offensive minds in football, Saints coach Sean Payton. His presence provides the Saints with a viable backup in case something happens to Brees and also allows Bridgewater the time to develop into their offense. It’s a great move for now and for later. I wish more teams thought like the Saints.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)