Aaron Rodgers and Randy Moss nearly swapped teams in 2007 which could’ve led to completely different career arcs for Tom Brady and Brett Favre. 2007 was a drastically different time in the league. At the time, Rodgers still hadn’t inherited the starting role for the Packers, Brady was still entering his prime (although there really isn’t a clear-cut line on when Brady’s prime started and ended), Brett Favre was still in the league, and so was Randy Moss, and neither seemed like they were declining.
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The 2007-08 season was an interesting year for the NFL. It marked Brady’s all-time peak. He took the Patriots to a 16-0 record in the NFL, only to fall in the Super Bowl to a New York Giants team that was a Wild Card team. He formed a dynamic connection with WR Randy Moss as they set records and lit the NFL world on fire. Brett Favre was playing great in his own regard, but with the potential of Randy Moss being there, he certainly could have been better.
Aaron Rodgers, Randy Moss trade had potential impacts on Tom Brady and Brett Favre
In 2007, the Packers weren’t as committed to Aaron Rodgers as they were towards the prime years of his career. They were grooming him behind Brett Favre, and the plan worked perfectly.
Rodgers took over the team, took a bit to get adjusted, and then quickly found MVP form. He’s a Super Bowl winner and a multiple-time MVP, and all those years behind Brett Favre just seemed to set him up perfectly to take over the team when he needed to.
However, in 2007, he was expendable to some degree. The Packers wanted to maximize Brett Favre’s window, so they were trying to find good pass catchers for him. Randy Moss was an option at the time because his production with the Raiders had fallen off meaning he wasn’t as highly valued as he actually was.
The Packers and Raiders considered a Moss-Rodgers swap, but the deal never came to fruition, and instead, Moss was dealt to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick. In hindsight, the deal was a complete robbery, but at the time, it really seemed like that was all Moss was worth.
Favre desperately wanted someone like Moss on the team as he would give the team the edge they needed with studs Greg Jennings and Donald Driver already there. However, Favre and Moss would only go on to team up with the Minnesota Vikings four years later when they were both past their primes.
How Would the League Have Changed With This Trade?
The NFL would have been massively different if this trade went down. For one, it’s unlikely the Patriots go undefeated that season. Moss set the NFL record for touchdown passes with 23 that year, and it’s unlikely that Brady and the Pats would have been as explosive without such an integral part of the team that went 16-0.
Next, perhaps Favre wins another Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers went 13-3 in 2007-08, losing out to the New York Giants in the Conference Championship. Maybe with Moss that doesn’t happen.
Additionally, the entire course of the Raiders’ history in the last 16 years is drastically different. They don’t need to worry about quarterback issues and who knows, perhaps they could have been legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.
