The Green Bay Packers have had a quiet offseason, but there’s some question over who is to blame for that.
The Packers have limited themselves mostly to re-signing current players, including running back Aaron Jones. They have not made any major additions, though quarterback Aaron Rodgers might want them to.
NFL reporter Tyler Dunne said recently that he had heard talk that the Packers would have been willing to make the sort of big addition Rodgers would like. However, Dunne has heard that Rodgers’ refusal to restructure his contract has left the Packers stuck. The team is instead facing the narrative that they are not trying hard enough to appease the quarterback.
“One other thing I heard: The Packers would've been able/open to pursuing a big name this offseason to win a title if Rodgers would've been open to reworking his contract in that manner. Instead, the dominant narrative is that they aren't doing enough for him.”
— @TyDunne
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) April 15, 2021
Rodgers has three years left on his contract after signing a 4-year extension in 2018. He has a $37 million cap hit in 2021 and would cost the team $38 million in dead cap money if cut. His cap hit is nearly $40 million in 2022, though his dead cap money drops to $17 million, which is a more manageable amount of money if the Packers wanted to move on from him. Rodgers is taking up around 20 percent of the $182 million salary cap in 2021.
This is in line with another report we heard recently. The organization definitely appears to be somewhat frustrated with the narrative that they’re the ones not doing enough when they can’t get Rodgers to give up enough money to allow the team to spend.
Rodgers has his own reasons for standing firm on his contract, as do the Packers. A restructure likely locks Green Bay into keeping Rodgers into 2022. Rodgers knows that, and he sees the team’s refusal to do so as an admission that they’re not prepared to tie themselves to him beyond 2021. That’s why he’s been dropping quotes like this one, and it’s created an awkward standoff between the two sides that seems destined to end with the status quo prevailing into the regular season.
