Madden Simulations Suggest Green Bay Packers are Better Without Aaron Rodgers
With Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers on unstable ground with his current team, CBS Sports' Pick Six podcast has created a Madden NFL 21 simulation of what might happen if Rodgers were to leave his team and explore other prospects. Not only did Rodgers' Madden run indicate that he would struggle on other teams, it also painted a picture of a stronger Packers team without Rodgers as their starting quarterback.
Following a series of difficulties between Aaron Rodgers and general manager Brian Gutekunst, the star quarterback has made it fairly clear that he is ready to be traded to another organization. He has recently chosen to skip all voluntary offseason training, which, while not technically against any rules, has cost him $500,000 in bonuses and has sent a strong signal. While a simulation in Madden may not be an entirely accurate representation of the team without Rodgers, Madden simulations have predicted the outcome of a number of Super Bowls, and do take into account a huge amount of factors as an in-game season plays out.
William Brinson, host of the Pick Six podcast, decided to see what a few Packers seasons may look like without Rodgers, running five simulated seasons in Madden NFL 21 with the quarterback on several different teams. Brinson took the top five Vegas odds for which teams were most likely to take Rodgers on and ran with those, resulting in a four seasons in which Rodgers' team didn't even make the playoffs, and one season with the Panthers that ended in a divisional round loss in the playoffs' early stages. The fact that things looked so bleak for a player who may be the Madden NFL 22 cover athlete wasn't even the most surprising aspect of the simulation.
Interestingly, Brinson points out that the Packers actually reached the Super Bowl in three out of the five simulations, with replacement quarterback Jordan Love excelling as the team's new starter. The Madden version of the team even won the Super Bowl in one of the three seasons, beating out the Ravens. All of this occurred while Rodgers' Raiders hadn't even made the playoffs with their 8-8 record. Brinson jokingly stated "Case closed! The Packers need to trade Rodgers ASAP," pointing out that he couldn't even 'drag Sean Payton and the Saints to the playoffs" in one of the simulated seasons.
While many fans will be upset enough about the Aaron Rodgers' situation to give credence to this Madden simulation, Brinson is quick to note that the whole thing is "absurd," and that fans shouldn't put too much stock in it or consider it journalism. It is certainly fun to see these types of things play out though, and with Jordan Love having no games played in 2020, it was likely an exciting prospect for Packers fans to see the draft pick actually payoff for their team, even if it was just in a virtual Madden prediction.
Madden NFL 21 is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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