NFL Trade Rumors: Aaron Rodgers 'would absolutely' play for super team if Jets deal falls through

The San Francisco 49ers were one of the finest teams in all of football last season and were shuffling through quarterbacks.

They started the season with Trey Lance playing two games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played for most of the regular season before enduring a foot injury that shut him down for the rest of the season.

Third-string quarterback Brock Purdy took over and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship before suffering a UCL tear in the game.

While it's unclear who will head into the season as the team's starter, radio host Craig Carton thinks the 49ers could possibly try to trade for Aaron Rodgers if he isn't traded to the New York Jets.

“Aaron Rodgers would absolutely wanna play for this franchise, San Francisco 49ers. They have Trey Lance coming off a broken ankle. They’ve got Brock Purdy who’s not going to be throwing the ball till August or September. And they signed Sam Darnold.

"They do not have a quarterback right now. Maybe Trey becomes a stud. We don’t know. Aaron Rodgers is from the area. He’s always said ‘I might wanna go home one day.’ He also famously said ‘I wanna screw with San Francisco for not drafting me.’”

Carton added:

“Here's the reality. San Francisco does not have a FRP in this draft. They gave em all away to get Trey Lance. They do, however, because of compensatory picks, have five third-round picks. So the conversation has been multiple third-round picks in this draft and a FRP in next year’s draft. If this happens, the New York Jets no longer exist as a franchise.”

The Jets are expected to land Rodgers by or near the time of the draft.

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San Francisco could head into 2023 season with Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback

Carolina Panthers v New Orleans Saints

In this off-season, the San Francisco 49ers signed free agent quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold could potentially start the season at quarterback for 49ers if Brock Pudy and Trey Lance are still receovering from their injuries.

GM John Lynch said via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group that Darnold craves what the team provides.

“I feel we’ve studied him forever, back when he was [a potential] No. 1 pick and we were looking for trade options. He kind of was craving what we could provide: a really cool structure on offense that’s tailor-made for his skill set. That’s what he bought into."

Darnold is a former first-round pick by the New York Jets who spent the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He has a real chance to head into the season stariting at quarteback for the San Francisco 49ers.