Justin Fields has a clearer path to becoming the best quarterback in the NFC North. The sad part is, he won't be able to dethrone Aaron Rodgers. Instead, Rodgers has officially been traded to the New York Jets. The compensation is not what it should have been, but I think the talks about how many years Rodgers plans on continuing to play is a direct cause of the lower value. Does this mean the Chicago Bears have a new owner finally?
As much as I cannot stand Aaron Rodgers and his ownership nonsense, it's hard to argue against the trash talk. Over his career, Rodgers is 24-5 against the Chicago Bears. He has thrown 64 touchdowns and 10 interceptions vs the team to his south. He averaged 240 yards passing and two touchdowns per game throughout his career when facing Chicago. His career quarterback rating vs the Bears was 109.0. Clearly, he has played well against our beloved orange and navy. This is why I was hoping to see Fields outplay him before he retired, left in free agency, or was traded. That did not happen.
Justin Fields will need to take a big step this season or could be looking for a new job in 2024. I have all the faith in the world he will become a top quarterback in the league this year with the addition of D.J. Moore and Chase Claypool getting a full offseason to work with Fields. I saw enough progress from Fields over his final weeks to know he's not just a running back as some critics like to claim.
Now, the quarterbacks in the NFC North are Justin Fields, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Jordan Love. We will have to see if any of the other three teams draft a quarterback to compete with their starters, but these four should be the starting quarterbacks in the division to start the 2023 season. Let's take a look at what the Packers received for Aaron Rodgers though and decide who won the trade.