Godchaux's take on Aaron Rodgers leaves Rams with harbinger of future

Do the LA Rams coaches and players follow social media? If not, perhaps now is the perfect time to start.

New England Patriots (2-6) defensive tackle Davon Godchaux had plenty to say after defeating the favorite New York Jets (2-6) by a score of 25-22. The victory downs the Jets aspirations of getting to the NFL playoffs this year, and opens the door to all forms of criticism and second-guessing to all parties who engineered the trade of Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) WR Devante Adams to the Jets just days ago.

After all, the Jets are banking their entire fortunes on 40-year-old veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers (soon to be 41 years old) after Rodgers was seriously injured in 2023 with an Achilles Tendon tear. Now, in 2024, he is dealing with injuries to his ankle and hamstring. At 40 years of age, not only is it far more difficult to heal, but it's a struggle to stay healthy. Here's what Godchaux had to say about the future Hall of Fame quarterback:

Aaron Rodgers is a veteran player who takes exquisite care of his body. But his injury history reveals that he is getting injured far more frequently of late. Three years ago, he threw for 4,300 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Now, at the halfway mark, he is still good enough to throw for 1800 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. But Rodgers is no longer at his prime.

Rams have plenty to ponder over Rodgers plight

Despite his age of four years younger than Rodgers, the gradual decline of abilities is something that happens to all NFL quarterbacks at some point in their careers. Foolish teams are those that fail to consider that risk. When the decline finally happens, as it eventually does for all players, it's going to happen without warning.

Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 549 times over the course of his 20-year NFL career. Matthew Stafford has been sacked 491 times over the course of his 16-year NFL career. Even now as the team invests in the offensive line to protect him, the weight of all those previous sacks continues. The team may slow the aging process with a solid offensive line and a valiant running game, but it cannot stop it.

For that reason, we added a Round 1 quarterback in our latest iteration of the Rams Mock Draft. Even if the team expects Stafford to remain peak-Stafford over the next year or two, there are no guarantees that will happen. And once it happens, and other NFL teams know that the Rams are shopping for a bridge-gap option under center, the asking price of even unfit options will skyrocket.

Ultimately, the Rams cannot address the situation when it's obvious a need for the team to do so. Stafford's successor has a lot to learn, observe, and adapt to. So after this season, the sooner he is added to the roster, the better.

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