Aaron Rodgers’ relationship with the Green Bay Packers appears so fractured that the quarterback wants the general manager fired, and he’s threatening to retire if that does not happen.
A source close to Rodgers told Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that the quarterback is “adamant” about not returning to the Packers as long as Brian Gutekunst remains GM. The source also indicated that Rodgers is willing to consider drastic options, from holding out of training camp to retirement, in order to avoid playing for Green Bay again.
Rodgers’ unhappiness with the Packers is rooted toward Gutekunst, particularly over last year’s first-round pick of Jordan Love and the lack of communication surrounding it. This is an issue that Gutekunst, the team’s GM since 2018, has acknowledged the Packers should have done better with. Rodgers believes Gutekunst’s plan was to move on from Rodgers after the 2020 season, but that the quarterback’s MVP campaign complicated things. The source believes that a Rodgers reconciliation with the Packers is unlikely as long as Gutekunst remains GM, and that team president Mark Murphy is aware of this.
This is in line with other reporting we’ve heard on the situation. The Packers are likely prepared to call Rodgers’ bluff here, as Gutekunst seems fairly well-entrenched. If he’s serious about his threats, though, this is likely to turn into an even bigger public showdown between the two sides.
The Packers may eventually find a way to convince Aaron Rodgers to remain with the team, but all signs continue to point to the star quarterback wanting out of Green Bay.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Friday that Rodgers’ discontent with the Packers is “legitimate.” The three-time MVP has reportedly gone as far as telling teammates he will not return to Green Bay in 2021.
“He’s told some teammates and players within the team that he doesn’t plan to return,” Schefter said. “Whether he follows up on that, we’ll see how the summer unfolds. We’ll see if it changes, but that’s how he feels.”
Schefter reiterated that one of the main sources of Rodgers’ frustration is that the Packers traded up in the draft last year to select quarterback Jordan Love. Rodgers was more bothered by Green Bay executives keeping him in the dark over the pick than he was about the pick itself.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Thursday that there is zero chance Rodgers will be traded, but he essentially admitted the team mishandled the Love situation last year.
Rodgers and the Packers have also been at odds over the quarterback’s contract this offseason. You can read an explanation of what has reportedly occurred with those negotiations here.
A lot can change in several months, but Rodgers is clearly digging his heels in. The Packers are going to have to work hard to change his mind.
Aaron Rodgers is unhappy with the Green Bay Packers and reportedly wants a trade. While the team insists he is not going anywhere, Rodgers’ representation is experienced when it comes to star quarterbacks forcing their way to a new team.
Rodgers is represented by agent Dave Dunn. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Media noted on Friday, Dunn is the same agent who represented Carson Palmer when Palmer was traded from the Cincinnati Bengals to the Oakland Raiders back in 2011.
The Bengals were a losing franchise steeped in turmoil when Palmer wanted out, so the two situations are not identical. Still, the fact that Rodgers has the same agent as Palmer gives Packers fans one more thing to feel uneasy about.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has said there is zero chance the team will trade Rodgers. He did, however, admit he could have done one thing differently with regard to the three-time MVP a year ago.
The Green Bay Packers have made it clear that they have no intention of trading Aaron Rodgers, but general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted on Sunday that he understands why the star quarterback might be frustrated.
Gutekunst spoke with reporters following the first round of the NFL Draft. He emphatically stated that the Packers are not going to trade Rodgers and said he believes the 37-year-old will play for the team again. However, the GM did make a surprising admission when he expressed regret over the way last year’s draft was handled.
“Some of the communication issues, we could’ve done better. No doubt about it,” Gutekunst said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
That, obviously, is a reference to the Packers trading up in the first round last year to select quarterback Jordan Love. Rodgers has said he was not pleased about the pick, but he was most bothered by the fact that he was given no indication that the Packers were going in that direction. By acknowledging that, Gutekunst is essentially offering an apology to the three-time MVP.
Rodgers and the Packers have also been at odds over the quarterback’s contract this offseason. You can read an explanation of what has reportedly occurred with those negotiations here.
There have been rumblings that Rodgers could pursue another career if the Packers don’t trade him, but we wouldn’t count on that happening.
Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is digging in on Aaron Rodgers.
Gutekunst spoke with reporters after the first round of the NFL Draft was completed on Thursday night. He was asked about Rodgers following reports that the quarterback doesn’t want to play for Green Bay anymore.
“We’re not going to trade Aaron,” Gutekunst said.
He also upped the stakes.
“I do think he’ll play for us again,” Gutekunst said.
Either Gutekunst is in denial, believes he can do what the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson, or he’s lying. Maybe he really thinks he can outlast Rodgers here. Good luck. The 37-year-old might even consider retirement before returning to the Packers if he really doesn’t want to play for them.
For now, we know the Packers are not letting teams make trade offers for the reigning NFL MVP. And here’s an explanation of what reportedly occurred in contract talks between the sides.
Numerous teams would have interest in Aaron Rodgers if the Green Bay Packers actually made him available in a trade. We know of two NFC West teams that already did show interest in Rodgers.
Adam Schefter was talking on ESPN’s coverage of the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday. He shared some information on Rodgers’ status with the Packers.
Schefter mentioned that Rodgers was not part of the Packers’ virtual offseason. He says that Rodgers has “dug in” about not wanting to be back in Green Bay.
What’s interesting is that Schefter named two teams that have reached out to the Packers regarding Rodgers: the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.
“They heard from the Rams in January,” Schefter said. They heard from the 49ers last night. I’m told that no team has made an offer. But it will be interesting to see, in light of this news today, if another team steps forward tonight and makes an offer to the Green Bay Packers.”
The Rams were probably just looking around and starting with the best quarterbacks possible in their quest to upgrade from Jared Goff. Maybe they also knew that Rodgers was not happy.
The Rams were reportedly told at the time that Rodgers was not available. So LA ended up trading for Matthew Stafford. The 49ers have reportedly tried to make a big push for Rodgers and were willing to deal the No. 3 pick.
Is Aaron Rodgers frustrated with the Green Bay Packers in part due to a trade not happening? That’s what one very interesting rumor suggests.
Former ESPN host Trey Wingo said on Twitter Thursday that the Packers told Rodgers they were going to trade him over the offseason. When they backed off, things became problematic between both sides.
Wingo says within the last week, Rodgers told the Packers he would not play for them again.
Why would the Packers have told Rodgers they would trade him and then not do it? The team seemingly has been trying to rework his contract. Were they thinking he would blink? Something there doesn’t seem to add up.
If the Packers do become open to trading Rodgers, there is one team that already is trying to get him.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is attempting to play down reports about quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ unhappiness in Green Bay.
In a statement issued to the media, Gutekunst said the Packers are “committed” to Rodgers “in 2021 and beyond.”
“As we’ve stated since the season ended, we are committed to Aaron in 2021 and beyond,” Gutekunst said, via the Associated Press. “Aaron has been a vital part of our success and we look forward to competing for another championship with him leading our team.”
This reads like an attempt at damage control that is coming far too late. The team’s decision to use its first-round pick on quarterback Jordan Love in 2020 was taken by Rodgers as a message that his days in Green Bay were numbered. At no point in the last year has anyone involved been able to shake that perception, and it’s clear that Rodgers still believes that.
It sounds like there are many other issues factoring into Rodgers’ unhappiness, and the Packers appear to be stuck both unwilling and unable to accommodate him. At this point, there really isn’t anything Gutekunst can say publicly to quiet the speculation that will only increase from here.
Aaron Rodgers wants out of Green Bay. That much has been established.
The 37-year-old quarterback was upset last year when the Packers drafted Jordan Love in the first round. Not only was that an obvious sign the Packers thought Rodgers’ career was winding down, but taking a quarterback prevented them from helping the team add first-round talent to other positions.
Rodgers gave obvious signs as soon as the season ended that he wasn’t happy with Green Bay. There was some thinking that he was angling for a new contract.
So what transpired that led up to Thursday’s report that Rodgers wants out? NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says Rodgers’ agent went to Green Bay. Rodgers wanted a contract extension, but Green Bay just wanted to restructure his current deal, which runs through 2023. When word got out that Rodgers wasn’t happy, teams came calling. The Packers then offered Rodgers an extension, but nothing happened.
And that leads us to Thursday, when news leaked that Rodgers wants out.
Rodgers just won NFL MVP and seems to have at least a few good years left in him. The Packers probably had some reasonable concerns about committing so much money to him given Rodgers’ age. Now it seems he is ready to force his way out. Keep in mind that the Packers reportedly have felt limited by Rodgers’ contract.
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.
Aaron Rodgers is reportedly so unhappy with the Green Bay Packers that he does not want to return to the team, and it sounds like there are several factors that led to his frustration.
The tension between Rodgers and the Packers really seemed to reach a boil a year ago, when Green Bay traded up in the first round of the draft to select quarterback Jordan Love. Rodgers has admitted he was not pleased about the decision. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that Rodgers wants out of Green Bay, and the Love pick is one source of frustration for him.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Rodgers’ contract is also an issue. The 37-year-old has wanted an extension rather than a restructure, but the negotiations have not gotten anywhere.
Depending on who you ask, the contract dispute may only be a small issue in the grand scheme of things. If you remember, Rodgers was frustrated three years ago that the Packers made significant changes to the team without consulting him first. Those changes included moving on from wide receiver Jordy Nelson and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt. His discontent has probably been building for a while.
Rodgers raised a big red flag with the comments he made after the NFC Championship Game this year, though he later downplayed them. He has also taken shots at Green Bay’s front office in the past. It sounds like he simply wants out.
