It seems fairly obvious that there has been tension between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers this offseason, but general manager Brian Gutekunst continues to insist the team is giving no thought to parting ways with its star quarterback.
In a pre-draft press conference with reporters on Monday, Gutekunst did not rule out Rodgers and the Packers agreeing to a restructured contract. He said the two sides are still “working through” things on that front. The GM also reiterated that the Packers are fully committed to Rodgers.
“Aaron’s our guy. He’s going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future (and) excited for the next couple of years,” Gutekunst said, via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Rodgers has three years left on his contract after signing a four-year extension in 2018. His cap hit is around $37 million this year and nearly $40 million in 2022.
The Packers could convert some of Rodgers’ $14.7 million base salary for next season into a signing bonus, which would free up salary cap space for 2021 but increase his dead cap hit for 2022. One line of thinking is that Green Bay doesn’t want to make that kind of commitment with Rodgers in case they decide to move on from him. Rodgers might be looking for assurances from the Packers that he’s not a lame duck.
It’s unclear exactly why Rodgers and the Packers have not agreed to a restructure, but it sounds like it has prevented the team from making certain moves this offseason. A new agreement is less likely with each passing day.
