Aaron Rodgers does not approve of the job Brian Gutekunst has done as general manager of the Green Bay Packers, and that is apparently something the star quarterback has expressed privately to his teammates.
Sources told Bob McGinn of The Athletic that Rodgers has mocked Gutekunst in group chats with his teammates by referring to the GM as Jerry Krause, who was the GM of the Chicago Bulls when they won six NBA titles.
Krause has widely been blamed for breaking up the Bulls dynasty. He butted heads with Michael Jordan over personnel moves and alienated Phil Jackson. Some of the issues with Krause were highlighted in “The Last Dance” documentary series last year, though Krause is not alive to share his side of the story.
McGinn added that the Packers are aware of the way Rodgers feels about Gutekunst but are “taking the high road.” Team officials continue to insist that they are committed to working things out with Rodgers.
Rodgers obviously blames Gutekunst for Green Bay’s decision to select quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of last year’s draft. One report claimed Rodgers will not return to the Packers unless Gutekunst is fired. Gutekunst has since addressed the report with a response you can read here.
Aaron Rodgers and his fiancee Shailene Woodley have made very few public appearances together since they began dating, but they decided to both attend the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Many athletes and celebrities were at the event, but few faced as much criticism as Woodley.
Woodley prides herself on being an activist. She was arrested in 2016 for protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. She’s also known for doing things like gathering her own water from mountain springs and making her own toothpaste and hygiene products. A lot of people with similar values do not support the Kentucky Derby, as they believe it promotes animal cruelty.
As Outkick’s Joe Kinsey noted, many of those people voiced their opinions on social media after Rodgers posted the following photo of him and Woodley at Churchill Downs:
Here’s a small sampling of the backlash Woodley received on Twitter:
There were many, many more, but a lot of them are too vulgar to feature here.
Woodley is an actor, so she is obviously used to criticism. The difference now is she is also being clocked by sports fans. Rodgers recently revealed what he expects his next big challenge to be now that he is engaged. Perhaps Woodley has found hers.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 3.0
Terry Bradshaw made it known this week that he does not approve of Aaron Rodgers trying to force his way out of Green Bay, which is an opinion that is probably widely shared. What Bradshaw said about Rodgers’ game, however, is even more surprising.
During a Monday appearance on WFAN’s “Moose & Maggie Show,” Bradshaw said the fact that Rodgers is so upset about the Packers drafting a quarterback in the first round last year “shows me how weak he is.” Bradshaw said he embraced competition from younger teammates during his Hall of Fame career and that management should “let (Rodgers) cry” and go retire.
Bradshaw has no intention of backing down from his Rodgers criticism. The Pittsburgh Steelers legend was asked on “The Herd w/ Colin Cowherd” on Tuesday if he believes NFL teams have to pamper quarterbacks these days with the way the league is structured. Bradshaw said teams should not do that and took the opportunity to criticize Rodgers’ footwork.
“Look, he’s an incredible player, but I can sit here right now and tell you he has probably the worst footwork I’ve ever seen for a starting quarterback. … He’s amazingly accurate. He protects the football and puts up monster numbers, but his footwork is all over the place,” Bradshaw said. “I don’t know if that’s because he got hit a lot and is out of position and doesn’t trust his linemen. He very seldom steps into a throw. It’s pretty impressive actually.”
Bradshaw went on to say that Rodgers should honor his contract with Green Bay.
“Aaron Rodgers is coddled maybe too much. He has no right to want to get the GM fired. What right does he have? … I’m supporting Green Bay here. Make him come back. Make him come back to you — don’t go to him, make him come back to you and answer for it. Or he can retire and go into ‘Jeopardy!’ or whatever he wants to do.”
You can hear Bradshaw’s full comments below:
Rodgers has been unhappy with several decisions the Packers have made. He feels the team should have consulted him before trading up to draft Jordan Love last year, but that isn’t the only issue. He apparently was also furious over one little-known player being released last year.
We know of at least one team that is interested in making an aggressive offer for Rodgers. Bradshaw believes the Packers should ignore any inquiries and hold their ground.
Photo: Elizabeth Fraser/United States Army/Arlington National Cemetery via Wikimedia
There are several teams that would love an opportunity to acquire Aaron Rodgers if the Green Bay Packers decide to part ways with the three-time MVP, but one continues to be mentioned as the most likely suitor.
In an appearance on “Get Up!” Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Denver Broncos appear to be more interested in Rodgers than any other team. The belief is that they are going to offer the most for the 37-year-old if and when a formal offer is made.
Russini added that the belief around the NFL is that “this is not going to work out” between Rodgers and the Packers. She hinted that team executives in Green Bay are feeling that as well.
“The sentiment there and the feeling I get is deflated. They’re absolutely deflated at this point,” Russini said of the Packers’ brass. “We know they’ve been trying to fix this and trying to mend it, but they know this is up to a very strong, stubborn, smart quarterback named Aaron Rodgers, who is gonna do what Aaron Rodgers wants to do.”
For what it’s worth, oddsmakers believe Denver is the clear favorite to land Rodgers if he leaves Green Bay.
The Broncos passed on drafting Justin Fields last week, and there is talk that they may have done that because of the Rodgers situation. Denver head coach Vic Fangio also gave an interesting response when asked about the team’s QB situation following the draft.
Aaron Rodgers has informed the Packers that he does not want to return to the team in 2021, and it seems like his favorite wide receiver believes we may have actually seen the last of the three-time MVP in Green Bay.
With endless reports circulating about Rodgers’ displeasure with the Packers, Davante Adams sent an interesting tweet on Monday afternoon.
“Gotta appreciate what u got while ya got it!” Adams wrote.
The tweet was a bit cryptic, but it is safe to assume it was about the Rodgers situation.
Adams and Rodgers have been downright deadly together over the past several seasons. Adams finished in the top five in every major receiving category last year and led the NFL with 18 touchdown receptions despite missing two games. He and Rodgers have been virtually unstoppable together when both are healthy.
If Rodgers does leave Green Bay, Adams will undoubtedly be disappointed. The Packers have publicly said they have no intention of trading Rodgers, but reports like this one indicate the 37-year-old is determined to get his way.
Aaron Rodgers has been upset with several decisions the Green Bay Packers have made in recent years, and apparently one of the moves that really angered him was when the team released Jake Kumerow.
For those of you who are understandably unfamiliar with him, Kumerow is a journeyman wide receiver who first signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He was with the Packers from 2017 until they released him before the start of last season. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, that roster move infuriated Rodgers.
“Rodgers, I’m told, also wanted to be more involved in some of the personnel decisions,” Rapoport said. “This is crazy, but it does seem like the one thing that drove Rodgers nuts was when the organization released Jake Kumerow just a day after (Rodgers) praised him publicly. That was described as a little bit of a death knell in the relationship.”
As Rapoport alluded to, Rodgers gushed about Kumerow during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio last September.
“Jake Kumerow has been such a solid performer for us for the last couple of years. I love his reliability,” Rodgers said at the time, via Ryan Miller of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “I think he’s a fantastic, steady player, who’s very heady on the field. He makes plays, he plays with a lot of coincidence, and he’s a guy who you love having on the squad.”
Kumerow had 20 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns over two seasons with the Packers. Rodgers must have felt he was in for a big year in 2020, but those in charge of Green Bay’s roster did not share that enthusiasm.
It seems more than a little farfetched that releasing a player like Kumerow would push Rodgers over the edge, but it may have been a factor. The three-time MVP was also angry when the Packers traded up to draft a quarterback last year without telling him ahead of time. That is why Rodgers reportedly wants at least one thing to happen before he considers returning to Green Bay.
Rodgers is unhappy with the Packers for several reasons. We have a tough time believing the team’s decision to cut Kumerow is near the top of the list.
Aaron Rodgers seems determined to force his way out of Green Bay this season, and oddsmakers believe there is at least a decent chance he will be successful. If the Packers do trade Rodgers, one team is already viewed as the clear favorite to land the three-time MVP.
DraftKings Sportsbook released odds on Monday for which team Rodgers will be playing for when the 2021 season begins. The Packers, obviously, are the favorite at -150. But not far behind them are the Denver Broncos, who have +200 odds to acquire Rodgers at some point in the next several months.
The Las Vegas Raiders are third on the list at +600, so the Broncos are viewed as a much more likely suitor than them.
The Broncos passed on drafting Justin Fields last week, and there is talk that they may have done that because of the Rodgers situation. Denver head coach Vic Fangio also gave an interesting response when asked about the team’s QB situation following the draft.
Packers executives insist they are not trading Rodgers. However, the 37-year-old reportedly wants at least one thing to happen before he considers returning to Green Bay.
It seems like there are several reasons Aaron Rodgers is frustrated with the Green Bay Packers, but apparently the job Brian Gutekunst has done as general manager of the team is at the top of his list. Despite that, Gutekunst is not giving up on trying to salvage the relationship.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported over the weekend that Rodgers wants Gutekunst fired and is “adamant” that he will not return to the Packers with the GM still in charge. Peter King of NBC Sports asked Gutekunst about that report on Sunday.
“(You) never want to see those things or read those things,” Gutekunst said. “He’s never said that to me and he never said that publicly … At the same time, I’m a lifelong scout, and we work all year for (the NFL Draft). We couldn’t let this distract us from the task at hand.”
Gutekunst was also asked if he believes the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers is tarnished beyond repair.
“No, I don’t think so at all. That’s my opinion and that’s the organization’s opinion,” Gutekunst said. “We want Aaron to be our quarterback. We’re pretty resolute with that … We want to leave every avenue open for that to happen.”
The Packers insist they are not going to trade Rodgers even as rumors swirl that the 37-year-old is willing to retire if he doesn’t get his way. A lot could change in the next few months, but Rodgers’ discontent has been brewing for quite some time.
Obviously, Rodgers was not happy that the Packers traded up to draft quarterback Jordan Love last year. He has admitted as much, and the biggest issue seems to be that the plans were not communicated to him ahead of time. The same was true when the Packers made some significant changes three years ago.
Rodgers did briefly speak to NBC’s Mike Tirico about the drama in Green Bay. You can read what he had to say here.
Aaron Rodgers is clearly unhappy that the Green Bay Packers drafted quarterback Jordan Love last year. The irony of the situation is that there is no player in the NFL who understands what it is like to be in Love’s position more than Rodgers.
Rodgers, of course, was drafted by Green Bay in the first round back in 2005. Brett Favre was still the face of the Packers at the time, and it would be an understatement to characterize the relationship between the two quarterbacks as icy. Andrew Brandt, who was an executive with the Packers at the time, described how Favre felt at the time.
As Brandt said, Rodgers probably knows exactly how Favre felt now. The Packers are still committed to Rodgers, who is coming off another MVP season. However, it goes without saying that they plan to hand the reigns over to Love at some point. Rodgers wants to be the one to decide when that happens, hence the stalemate.
Favre has expressed regret over the way his tenure in Green Bay came to an end. Rodgers could be headed down the exact same path, as he reportedly wants out and is willing to go to some serious lengths to get his way.
Aaron Rodgers is said to be so frustrated with the Packers that he would rather retire than return to Green Bay, but there are other teams the three-time MVP is willing to play for. Are the Las Vegas Raiders one of them?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “SportsCenter” Sunday that Rodgers is “intrigued” by the possibility of playing for Jon Gruden and the Raiders.
“He is reportedly intrigued by the Raiders as well, so they have to be on this list,” Fowler said, via Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report. “They’re happy with Derek Carr; nothing’s going on right now, and they very well could extend Derek Carr sometime soon. But the Raiders look into every single quarterback situation. … They looked at past free agents or trade options. So, Jon Gruden is sort of always lurking. You can’t discount them.”
Raiders general manager Mike Mayock made it clear recently that the team is happy with Carr. Las Vegas also did not move up in the draft for a quarterback despite some speculation over the past few weeks.
Obviously, the availability of Rodgers could change how the Raiders view things. Gruden would undoubtedly be excited about the prospect of coaching one of the greatest players of all time. Cost would still be a factor, and it’s unclear if the Packers would even consider trading Rodgers.
Rodgers reportedly wants one thing to happen before he even considers returning to Green Bay.
