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Aaron Rodgers Jokes He's Not Joining 49ers After Question on NFL Future at Pro-Am
February 2, 2023
Aaron Rodgers provided a micro-update on his NFL future on Wednesday during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, albeit one delivered in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
"I'm not going to San Fran," he told Colt Knost of CBS Sports.
Golf on CBS ⛳ @GolfonCBSColt Knost asking the important questions when <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AaronRodgers12</a> is on the tee 😂<a href="https://twitter.com/ColtKnost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ColtKnost</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/attproam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@attproam</a> <a href="https://t.co/otbvihKoVj">pic.twitter.com/otbvihKoVj</a>
So cross the San Francisco 49ers off the list.
Given that Rodgers is from California and went to college at Cal, speculation about him someday joining the Niners has persisted for years.
But there are two main reasons it's an incredibly unlikely scenario, and they are named Trey Lance and Brock Purdy.
The 49ers have two young quarterbacks already on the roster. For Lance, the Niners gave up massive draft capital to acquire and he was the starter going into the year before fracturing his fibula and suffering ligament damage in his ankle the second game of the season.
Purdy, meanwhile, started the season as the team's third-stringer but was forced into starting duties in December when Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot. All Purdy did was go 5-0 as the starter and lead the Niners to the NFC Championship Game, where he suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow.
Neither player is a four-time MVP and quarterbacking legend like Rodgers. There's little doubt that the Packers' star would be a short-term upgrade.
But the Niners also have the cap benefits of having two quarterbacks on rookie deals. Rodgers would give them far less flexibility in that regard. And the team hasn't really had a chance to see if Lance can be the future of the position like he was drafted to be.
So the 49ers probably will stand pat at the position, allowing Lance and Purdy to have a true quarterback competition once Purdy is cleared to return from his injury recovery. And even if the Niners did decide to pursue Rodgers, it sounds like the quarterback doesn't have any immediate plans to return to the Bay Area, assuming he even continues his career at all.