Packers could pour more resources into 2022, but is it worth it? The case for and against

With the Nov. 1 trade deadline fast approaching, the Packers have a choice to make: Do they double down on an already rough 2022 season or conserve resources for next year?

Mired at 3-4, the Green Bay Packers have little hope for turning the ship around and making good on their preseason status as Super Bowl contenders. Publicly, the team maintains that it can salvage 2022, but that argument grows increasingly difficult to make with each passing week.

Still, with so much of the season remaining and a quarterback coming off of back-to-back MVP awards, punting on 2022 doesn't look like an easy choice either. The Packers possess more talent than their record or performance to date indicates. The delta between those two offers some potential, however limited, for improvement.

With the Nov. 1 trade deadline fast approaching, the Packers have a choice to make: Do they double down on an already rough 2022 season or conserve resources for next year?

The case for doubling down on 2022

The Packers must accept an unavoidable truth: Aaron Rodgers has so few seasons left in the NFL that punting on any of them seems foolhardy. For however poorly the quarterback has performed this season -- and he has played about as badly as at any point in his career -- betting on the reigning two-time MVP to iron out the wrinkles will always represent a better wager than not.

And to a certain degree, the Packers effectively made this decision in March when they signed him to a new extension. The money guaranteed to Rodgers transferred a considerable amount of control to the quarterback, allowing him to re-evaluate his interest in playing yearly while keeping the team committed to him throughout. Rodgers can't actually call the shots for general manager Brian Gutekunst, but that doesn't mean the front office can ignore his voice.

"Brian and I've had a number of conversations," Rodgers said following the Week 6 loss to the New York Jets. "I trust him and his staff. If they feel like they need to add, they will. I think there's enough on this team to be a successful team. There's a possibility if certain guys emerge of us having a chance to make a run. I know Biran believes the same thing. But if there's an opportunity, I would expect that Brian will be in the mix."

Understandably, Rodgers has no interest in punting on any season and would actively resist doing so less than a year removed from his most recent MVP award. With that as the backdrop, the Packers have to navigate accordingly even if the brain trust holds doubts about the team's viability in 2022. Rodgers doesn't have to love every decision, but if he sees Green Bay undermining its chances of making a run with him under center, everything can fall apart.

And even with the current three-game losing streak placing the Packers squarely behind the eight ball, the NFC hasn't exactly closed the door on any team with a roughly .500 record. Only four teams in the conference have banked five or more wins, and three of them reside in the NFC East. That concentration leaves plenty of opportunities for teams elsewhere, and Green Bay could theoretically capitalize even if the team looks objectively bad at the moment.

So how can the Packers capitalize on a woeful NFC field? It all starts with Rodgers. The front office could hypothetically add prime Jerry Rice and Randy Moss and it wouldn't matter if Rodgers continues to misread the middle of the field and toss passes at his receivers' feet. Nothing else matters if Rodgers doesn't start performing like a franchise quarterback.

But even acknowledging that Rodgers' play constitutes the biggest individual issue holding back the team so far in 2022, the Packers have other problems. While the receiving corps has more to offer than many acknowledge, that only holds true if the key players stay on the field. At present, the offense lacks the services of veteran Randall Cobb (ankle, IR) and rookie Christian Watson (hamstring). The problem will only grow worse if leading receiver Allen Lazard misses time with his apparent shoulder injury. That leaves rookie Romeo Doubs, freshly activated but oft-injured Sammy Watkins, Amari Rodgers, and Samori Toure as the only healthy wideouts on the 53-man roster.

The Packers have some options in the trade market if they can swallow the price.