NFL Championship Sunday is only 72 hours away — and yet one of the biggest storylines concerns the future of a quarterback who won’t be playing this weekend.

The Aaron Rodgers chatter intensified Thursday with the possibility of a pair of new destinations for Green Bay’s unsettled star.

First, the Broncos hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to be their next head coach. A few hours later, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger officially announced his retirement from the NFL.

Both teams are arguably an elite quarterback away from being serious Super Bowl contenders.

• Denver’s defense ranked third in the league in points (18.9) and eighth in yards (326.1).
• Pittsburgh boasts PFWA Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt, who led the NFL in sacks and tied Michael Strahan’s single-season record (22.5).
• But both franchises struggled with QBs — among qualified players for ESPN’s QBR, Teddy Bridgewater ranked 20th (47.3), and Roethlisberger ranked 26th (35.5).

Rodgers has one season remaining on his four-year, $134 million contract — but Green Bay could be wise to trade him or else risk losing him for nothing next offseason.

A trade partner could get a package deal: Pending free agent WR Davante Adams has implied that he wants to continue playing with Rodgers wherever he goes — assuming the Packers don’t use the franchise tag on Adams.

Still, Rodgers could end up staying in Green Bay — he remained despite highly publicized tension with the front office last offseason.

Several star-studded teams have been riddled with injuries and COVID-related woes this season — think Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

But no one seems to be talking about Miami, another wounded squad not only thriving, but topping the East.

The 1-seed Heat (31-17) defeated the Knicks in a blowout on Wednesday — the 17th time this season they’ve won by 10+ points.

The Heat have dealt with their fair share of adversity — and transcended it.

• Despite missing 18 games this year, Jimmy Butler recently passed LeBron James for most triple-doubles in Heat history (10).
• Bam Adebayo returned last week after missing 25 games; in three seasons together, he and Butler have a .635 win percentage.
• Tyler Herro is making a case for Most Improved Player in his third year, averaging a career-high 20.7 PPG on 39% three-point shooting (15 PPG, 36% 3PT last season).

Thanks to a combination of smart offseason moves and continuity, the Heat are once again legitimate championship contenders — despite playing only 12 games with all four of their core players — Butler, Adebayo, Herro, and Kyle Lowry.

The quartet account for 67.1% of Miami’s payroll, the 10th-highest in the NBA ($140.6M), and are all locked in for the next three seasons.

Pat Riley has once again constructed a team-first culture capable of beating all the best in the East.

The Avalanche have been nearly unbeatable in January — and the Stanley Cup front-runners have a shot at NHL history before the month is out.

On Wednesday, Colorado won its eighth straight, a 4-3 comeback victory in OT over the Bruins. The Avs also extended their home winning streak to 17 games — the fifth-longest in league history (Red Wings, 23, 2011-12).

At 13-0-1 in January, they’ve totaled the franchise’s most wins ever in a single month — and with two games remaining, the Avs can tie the all-time mark of 15 in a month (Bruins, 2014; Penguins, 2013).

• Their record (30-8-3) is the best in team history at the season’s midpoint.
• Their plus-50 goal differential is tied with the Panthers for tops in the NHL.
• The Avs are the first team since the 1995-96 Penguins with five-plus players to reach the 40-point mark halfway through the season.

On a team with stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog, the offensive catalyst has been 23-year-old defenseman Cale Makar.

The former Calder Trophy winner, who signed a six-year, $54 million contract extension over the summer, has 17 goals and 24 assists and is the favorite to win the Norris Trophy (+200*).

Colorado (+500*) hasn’t made it past the second round of the postseason since 2010 but is the current favorite to win its first Cup since 2001.