Jordy Nelson is now happily retired and has no plans to return to the NFL, but that doesn’t mean he thinks he didn’t have more to offer.
Nelson and Aaron Rodgers forged a strong partnership together with the Green Bay Packers, and Nelson watched from afar as the Packer offense struggled in the last two seasons after his release. And he definitely thinks he could have helped ensure that things went a bit differently had he been there.
“I definitely think I could have helped them. I don’t know what kind of player I’d be if I sat here and said, ‘No, I wouldn’t have been able to help them,'” Nelson told ESPN Wisconsin last week, via Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. “I think the track record between Aaron and I, I think we could have been productive no matter what year it would have been. I think we proved it over the time, year-in and year-out. We were both very productive. And until proven otherwise, I would say yes, I would have been able to.”
Nelson had four 1,000-yard seasons with the Packers, and caught 14 touchdowns in 2016. With Rodgers hurt for much of 2017, Nelson’s production tailed off significantly, and the Packers let the wide receiver go. Since then, the Green Bay offense has been in the middle of the pack, even when going 13-3 in 2019.
How much might Nelson have helped? We don’t know, but it was no secret that Rodgers was openly upset at the Packers for letting his favorite wide receiver go. Maybe things really could have been a bit different had Green Bay management given the pair one more season together.
