James Jones is one of the few people who seem to have real insight into why Aaron Rodgers is unhappy with the Green Bay Packers, and the former wide receiver offered a strong hint about the situation this week.
Jones, who was teammates with Rodgers for eight seasons and remains close with him, reiterated on “The Herd w/ Colin Cowherd” Tuesday that he believes the issues between Rodgers and the Packers are “fixable.” He also said Rodgers does not want general manager Brian Gutekunst fired and that the quarterback’s frustrations are “not just about this season.”
According to Jones, Rodgers has been frustrated for years with the Packers parting ways with certain veteran players.
“He wants to keep some of the guys who have been in that building and helped the team win, whether or not you think they may be done. … It goes back to the Charles Woodsons, the Clay Matthews’, the Julius Peppers’, the Jordy Nelsons, the James Jones’. He just wants to make sure a lot of guys like that that who may not be scoring 15 touchdowns or getting 15 sacks or 15 interceptions, but these dudes are big in the locker room for the young fellas. They’re key parts of this team to go (try) to win a championship,” Jones said.
Cowherd then mentioned how Rodgers has a right to be upset with the way the Packers have drafted, as they tend to use early picks on players they know could take several years to develop. You can understand why that might bother a 37-year-old quarterback, but Jones insists that is not Rodgers’ biggest beef with Green Bay.
“I think for him the most important thing is it’s not about who you’re bringing in,” Jones said. “I can’t control who you draft. I can’t control who you bring in (via) free agency. But what I do want a little input on is the guys that you are letting out of the building. When you’ve got guys like Jordy Nelson who are willing to take a pay cut to play, and you’re saying no get out of here anyway, sometimes that can tick you off a little bit.”
You can hear Jones’ full comments below:
"I've talked to Aaron. He told me it's not about the GM… He's willing to go in there and make this thing right."
— @89JonesNTAF pic.twitter.com/hpn6MhlsRe
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 8, 2021
Rodgers was openly irritated three years ago when the Packers cut Nelson. He also made it clear that same offseason that he was unhappy with a certain coaching change.
We mentioned earlier this offseason that Rodgers’ frustration with the Packers has been brewing for a while. It’s unclear if there was a specific move that put him over the edge, but that is why the feud may be a difficult one to resolve.
The Packers have done things a certain way for years, and they’ve been one of the most consistent franchises in football because of it. They aren’t going to just change their entire philosophy for a 37-year-old player, which probably explains why they traded up to draft Jordan Love last year.
Rodgers officially began his holdout on Tuesday by not reporting to minicamp. One line of thinking is that the Packers could be daring him to not show up.
