Nathaniel Hackett is the new head coach of the Denver Broncos, but most of the speculation right now concerns who his starting quarterback might be.
With Hackett having bolted his role as OC in Green Bay, and Packers great Aaron Rodgers potentially about to hit the trade market, you could easily be forgiven for putting two and two together.
The job as Denver HC was one of the best openings out there, and Hackett takes over a stacked roster with a ton of talented offensive playmakers.
Denver though does have one major failing - it does not have a franchise quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock both started at various times in 2021, but neither proved the long-term answer as the Broncos fell from a 3-0 start to a 7-10 finish.
That record saw Vic Fangio fired as head coach following a 19-30 record, freeing up the role now inherited by Hackett. As well as excelling in his role in Green Bay, Hackett had earlier been offensive coordinator for Jacksonville when the Jags reached the AFC Championship Game in 2017.
Who will be Denver’s QB #1 in 2022?
One of the first jobs Hackett must undertake, along with Denver GM George Paton, is to decide what the team’s future direction will be at the game’s most important position. Which leads us on, inevitably, to Rodgers.
One of the greatest ever to play the game, Rodgers is coming off another excellent season in which he played at MVP level (he may well claim that award for the second straight year on February 10).
Aaron Rodgers contract situation
Rodgers does have one year remaining on his Green Bay contract, though he is on the books for $44million with the team already $40million over the 2022 salary cap.
After a long off-season standoff with the team in early 2021, Rodgers finally reported to camp and led the Packers to yet another NFC North title. But a contract restructure in the summer voided 2023 and made a trade this winter a distinct possibility.
It promises to be one of the biggest storylines of a fascinating off-season, and now we wait to see which way it will go.