Speculation that the Broncos could push to acquire Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers began to swirl in advance of last week’s draft, though Ian Rapoport of NFL.com indicated that such chatter was overblown. However, subsequent reports suggested that a Rodgers-to-Denver deal could still happen, and those rumors are not going away.
The feeling around the league is that Rodgers will not return to the Packers, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini (video link). Russini adds that Packers brass is “deflated” about the direction this is heading. The team has continued to try and put a good face on the situation and insists that Rodgers will be back in Green Bay in 2021, but that feels like a dubious proposition at this point. And if the Packers ultimately cave and deal the three-time MVP, Russini hears that the Broncos will be the most interested and will present Green Bay with the strongest offer.
Although the Broncos recently acquired Teddy Bridgewater in a trade with the Panthers and are rostering 2019 second-rounder Drew Lock, it’s hard to imagine either player piloting a championship club. The rest of the roster, though, looks strong, and adding Rodgers would immediately make Denver a threat to win the AFC, just like Peyton Manning did nine years ago. So it’s easy to envision GM George Paton doing everything in his power to make that happen.
One way or another, Russini confirms that if a trade is consummated, it will not take place until after June 1, due to the salary cap ramifications. Of course, in addition to those cap concerns and negotiating the best possible deal with the Broncos or any other club, the Packers must also consider their own on-field product. After all, they came devastatingly close to winning the NFC last year, and they will return much of that successful roster in 2021. So will the team be comfortable passing the baton to Jordan Love, the 2020 first-rounder who is at the epicenter of the Rodgers-Packers rift?
Maybe not. Albert Breer of SI.com gets the sense that Green Bay does not necessarily believe Love — who was always considered a developmental prospect — is ready to take the reins. It’s unlikely that there will be any starting-caliber QB options on the free agent or trade markets, so assuming Love is truly not prepared, the Packers will really be in a bind if they can’t mend fences with Rodgers.
In addition to the Love issue, there are other factors contributing to this Spring of Rodgers’ Discontent, one of which is rather surprising. Rapoport says that the “death knell” of the relationship was when the team cut WR Jake Kumerow last September, right after Rodgers publicly referred to him as one of the team’s most reliable receivers (video link). Though Kumerow became something of a cult hero during his time in Green Bay, it would be odd for his release to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, but such is the enigma of Rodgers. For what it’s worth, Kumerow ultimately appeared in six games in 2020, all with the Bills. He recorded one catch for 22 yards.
Rapoport also confirms that Rodgers was hoping for an extension that would cement his status as the Packers’ starter until he chooses to retire, and that he wants a say in personnel decisions. Veteran NFL reporter John Clayton says that the team’s overall approach to the wide receiver position (and not just Kumerow’s apparently calamitous release) has also played a major role in the impasse. Although GM Brian Gutekunst has only been the team’s top decision-maker since 2018, Green Bay’s first choice in each of the last 10 drafts was used on a defensive player, and Rodgers’ frustration has reached the breaking point.
Former NFL agent Joel Corry offers a two-pronged approach by which the Packers might placate Rodgers. The first step, Corry says, would be trading Love, and the second would be giving Rodgers the extension he wants. Rodgers has three years remaining on his current contract, and while it’s exceedingly rare for a team to authorize an extension for a player who is still under club control for three seasons, the Cardinals did provide a blueprint for such a maneuver when they extended DeAndre Hopkins last year.
As Corry notes, Rodgers will want to top Patrick Mahomes‘ record $45MM AAV, and that would mean adding $90MM of new money over a five-year term (the three years on his current deal plus a two-year extension). Ultimately, though, Corry doesn’t believe the Packers will go that route, because he does not believe the team wants to deviate from its original plan of having Love succeed Rodgers when the time is right. Unfortunately for Green Bay, Rodgers might be forcing the team to throw Love into the fire before he’s ready.
Bye Felicia….
Don’t trade him, let him retire and pay back the 23 million. I would call his bluff
No, they should extract as much compensation as they can from someone for him. I’m guessing they can acquire multiple very high picks for the next 2 drafts for him and that’ll go a long way to creating a perennial Super Bowl contender.
You could get a million picks for Rodgers and it still won’t matter. Gutey will screw them all up. He has hit on a total of 2 picks in 3 years. His drafts have been absolutely horrible outside of those 2 picks.
When Green Bay spends the next 20 years searching for its next All Pro QB maybe the fan base will finally realize how horrible Gutey is at being a GM and how he drove the program in the dirt.
Ron Wolf should come slap Gutey for destroying all his hard work of restoring the Packers to its place among the top franchises in the NFL after years of ineptitude.
Amen!!! I agree get everything you can get for him. If he doesn’t want to be there move him. If you use what you can get for him the team will be better for it.
I’m with you. I do not like giving into ransom demands. But if GB can get a treasure chest of picks/players in return, I’d do the trade. I’d set the price as 3 first rounders and at least 1 quality starter. Take it or leave it. Then I’d let him retire.
Numerous players give into them every year. Turnabout is fair play.
What are you on?
Elgton is a top 5 guard in the league.
Jaire is a top 5 corner in the league
Gary is still developing but he’s shown some promise.
Savage is an emerging safety
AJ Dillon is a bowling ball and has shown flashes in his few opportunities. (Remember the Titans game where he put everyone on his back?)
Love is a quesruon mark obviously, but we haven’t seen anything to tell us he is not going to be the man when given the opportunity to take over.
Jenkins + Alexander = 2
My point exactly. 2 picks. That’s it.
“Gary is still developing” = he is not the impact player that someone chosen with the high value draft pick that was used on him should be at this point in his career.
“Savage is an emerging safety”. We wasted not one, but 2 picks on a guy that still is “emerging.” At this point in his careers Ed Reed, who was taken 2 picks later in the first round Savage was taken in his respective draft was not considered “emerging”; he had arrived.
As for Dillion, a very small sample of success does not equal a “stud” pick. The jury is still out on that guy.
As for the rest of Gutey’s draft picks, a ton of busts.
So the question is what are YOU on? Obviously your drinking a bunch of Gutey Kool-Aid.
I don’t understand the “call his bluff” line of thinking. What if he’s not bluffing? Without Rodgers, GB is at best a 6-10 team. But if you get a slew of first round picks, it’s a quick retool. If you get nothing, it’s a long rebuild.
You’d have to presume that the Broncos would go no worse than 10-6. If the Broncos trade their 1st round pick to GB, it would probably be in the mid-20s somewhere. Not bad and better than nothing, but not exactly a great haul.
Given Rodger’s injury history, there’s a good chance that pick may be higher than you think…
“Call his bluff” thinking comes from people who think athletes are lucky and shouldn’t have a say in the place they work.
Always seemed like jealousy to me but maybe I’m wrong
Do the athletes not have a choice currently?
I don’t recall hearing about Rodgers being forced to sign any of his contracts.
Maybe I just missed that part of the story.
Rodgers has had choices for most of his career, but remember that he didn’t have any choice the first five years of his career (fifth-year option), and might not have for an additional two years, I believe, via the franchise tags.
If im not mistaken, the 5th year option didnt even exist back then. Rodgers spent 3 years on the bench, and then i believe they gave him an extension the year he became the starter.
I think you’re right about the 5th year option. About his contracts, I checked Pro Sports Transactions, and he signed a 5-year rookie contract, 2005-09, and then in the middle of the 2008 season, a 5-year extension, 2010-14. March 2013, another 5-year deal, 2015-19; end of training camp 2018, a 4-year deal, 2020-23; day after Xmas 2019, he restructured that deal, increasing his 2019 cap hit and lowering his 2020 one, per OTC.
Thank you for the correction re: the option.
I don’t mean to single you out because I’ve seen this said by other people too, but I really don’t get this logic. I understand not wanting to set a precedent and caving into a player all the time, but if you’re too aggressive about trying to win this staredown then you might win the battle but you won’t win the war.
If you call his bluff and he retires, you’re out a franchise quarterback and you have nothing to show for it. If you trade him, you’re out a franchise quarterback but you’re suddenly really well-stocked with picks and assets for now and the future. They probably still view Love as the long-term guy, so they could move onto him while having plenty of picks to theoretically build around him too. If you call his bluff and he still doesn’t retire, you’re still left with a player who seems intent on sabotaging the team and doing whatever he can to drag them down on his way out. It will probably come to the point where it just won’t be worth it for them anymore.
Plus there’s the matter of how other players around the league would see the Packers. If the guy clearly wants out and will do everything in his power to make it happen, it makes the Packers look bad to free agents and the rest of the league. No one else would ever want to go there.
This is correct. Refusing to give in just to spite your player doesn’t work if you’ve been the one mismanaging the team, anyway. If Rodgers gets what he wants, the team gets better. That’s difference here between his situation and someone like, say, LeVeon Bell. Rodgers said what most of us were saying anyway, independent of his frustration.
I agree with you we will look bad to other free agents if you call his bluff and he leaves you get nothing. You trade him and hope for the kings ramson and hope you hit on the draft picks.
Yawn. More media drivel.
Let Rodgers retire then. Cry baby that he’s being.
He’s not going to retire because he wants to set some career passing records. I’d trade him though because his trade value will never be higher coming off an MVP season. Trade him to Denver for 3 firsts , one of their wideouts and we get their cornerback they took in the first round and we give them ours. Let Love play quarterback, win 5 games and get a high pick in next years draft and draft a quarterback . We can’t make Rodgers the highest paid quarterback because he could start slipping at any time. He’s due to get injured again too. Trade him and start a rebuild.
I don’t see why the Pack wouldn’t also take Bridgewater, if only for a one-year rental. First, I don’t think anyone in the organization really wants to tank, and second, it might break Love and his confidence playing him too soon.
So 5 first round picks?
Pass.
Love Rodgers but that’s insane.
Exact reason that no one is going to give up that type of package for a 37 year old QB with a crappy attitude and a questionable health history.
Sounds like a super smart idea to not trade your MVP QB and just let him retire. Why trade him for a boatload of assets when you can let him retire, receive absolutely no compensation, and then go 6-10 every year for the next five years?
I swear, some of the people who post here seriously need to ask themselves why they hate players so much. I mean, you’re advocating for blowing up the entire team just to spite someone. Insane.
I think you may be wrong here rct. Not sure, but Rodgers has three years left on his contract, the Packers don’t lose that control if he retires. I think, if Rodgers is dead set on leaving the Pack, that the Packers would be best served letting him “retire” and let at least part of the season play out. There is no advantage right now in trading Rodgers to the one team that is now in a position and a position of need before the start of this season. The draft of 2022 is not set yet, and won’t be until after this season is played out, then you have a larger bunch of teams that will not be set at the QB position and you’ll have the rights to the hottest QB on the market if he chooses he wants to play again and I think we all would agree he does want to play again. Faced with that decision, I think he would come around and play with the Packers this year, which is the outcome they want, and you can then trade him in the offseason when there are more buyers of his services and a whole lot better opportunities than a couple/few late first round picks.
Why get into these idiotic head games and risk getting nothing for him? It makes no sense. You try your hardest to convince him to stay, and if he’s adamant that he’ll retire if you don’t trade him, you trade him. Why call his bluff or play chicken?
There’s also more than ‘one team’ who’d be interested in Rodgers. There’s still a bunch of teams who would consider trading for him (Broncos, Giants, Eagles, WFT, Pats, Steelers, Titans, Texans, Raiders, Vikings, Lions, Saints, Panthers), even if some seem ‘set’ at QB. Rodgers for two or even three 1st rounders and practically every one of those teams jumps at it.
Duplicate.
I understand your point rct but I’m not trying to play “head games” with my thinking. (other than it is an exercise of thought we are all playing in our heads, lol) I’m approaching it as if I’m in charge of the franchise and how to get an appropriate level of compensation for, the pretty much only reason this franchise is an upper tier franchise. Without Rodgers, the Pack is quite a sub .500 team more than likely and any team getting him is a winning team. So their picks are of suspect quality to a team that is bereft a franchise QB. Look at San Fran, it required 3 firsts and I think it was a second?? to move up to take the 3rd best QB in this last draft. If I were a GM I would want in return from him at least ONE extremely high 1st rounder and a couple of “whatever” first round picks. I couldn’t get that as it sits now because if Rodgers comes in to any team at the start of the season, that team will not be picking high. So I sit on him for the benefit of my franchise because two years of him, (at the worst) for another franchise will still be worth pretty much the same price. It isn’t about punishing Rodgers, it’s about what I would feel I need in a return for him to move him. Now this is all based on the opinion that he had not vehementely stated he was not coming back early, like February, and just let it slip out on draft day of his “not coming back”. Had he informed me of his absolute refusal to play anymore early, I’d have traded him before the draft for a haul similar to what San Fran paid to move up. In that case I’ll blame the Pack front office. But the timing Rodgers appears to have given the public, I would feel my approach to be the best. Try to change his mind, do all I can to accomplish that, if not, let him retire until I can get a draft haul of high enough picks to be able to find a suitable replacement. Because if it was not until draft night he spoke out, then it was him playing head games, and it was him that would have left the Packers bereft of true options. I understand you opinions though, get what you can for him. I just disagree, I would want to attempt to maximize my gain. There is nothing punitive in my approach, though I could see why someone would think so. lol.
Yes, I don’t understand the “burn down the franchise to show up Aaron Rodgers” attitude at all. Most people agree that Rodgers has genuine reasons to be fed up with how the Packers have wasted most of his career (drunken lout McCarthy left to fester as head coach for five years too long; inadequate high end help on offense; not informing Rodgers pro-actively of moves they plan to make on offense). Now it’s morphed into a personal dislike of Gutenkust. Rodgers is not going back.
Better to take what they can before it turns into Rodgers is set for life and a proud guy. He will do whatever it takes. The guy didn’t become league MVP (twice, thrice?) because he lacks commitment or willpower.
Denver is still hot. Take the two firsts and a second rounder which are on the table. Or two firsts and Bridgewater and move on. Asking for five firsts for a thirty-seven year old athlete is not going to work. Pounding the table for that kind of compensation will just drive suitors away. Gutekunst is good at messing up easy deals though. Probably mess this one up as well.
just a funny aside Alec, but why in the world would the Packers take Bridgewater and drop a second round pick off a trade when Denver paid a 6th rounder for him while getting Carolina to eat 2/3rds of his salary for 2021?? I know inflation has been high recently but damn!!!!
What a diva.
No kidding!!! Somebody who is currently one of the ten best at what he does in the entire UNIVERSE wants a different employer! Wow. How unreasonable can a man get, huh???
Yep, consider who is as a matter of decade-long fact more valuable to GB, Rodgers or this or that or any GM, Nobody has been as under-appreciated as No. 12.
Yep, consider who is as a matter of decade-long fact more valuable to GB, Rodgers or this or that or any GM, Nobody has been as under-appreciated as No. 12. And the proof in that is Jerry Jones thinking it was McCarthy and not Rodgers who made that success happen. There it is.
Entire Universe huh? Obviously you’re not familiar with the level of competition on Rygell 7.
That’s a fair reply. I’d forgotten the progress FPRX-217 made in the past few seasons…
How does anyone think draft picks from a team QB’d by Rodgers will be high picks? 3 #25 picks at best? Not great in my opinion. You start with Surtain, Jeudy and Fant. Or a combo of 2 and a pick or so.
Are the Broncos really a QB away from the SB?
Probably not.
A QB can make a huge difference but the AFC west is getting tougher and they’ll probably be last place in the division, without Rodgers.
Could be. Good defense, lots of young skill-position talent on offense. Especially when considering the QB in question.
Their roster is better than Green Bay’s…
He really wants to host Jeapordy full time.
Meh, he was ok as host but no great shakes.
You’re being generous. He’s been one of the WORST guest hosts of Jeopardy since Alex Trebek died. ZERO charisma. NO personality. I hope he’s not seriously planning to be the permanent host. Don’t quit your day job, Aaron, and grow up, quit whining, appreciate that Packers have assembled a very good team, as well as the fact that you do none of the blocking, receiving, or defending on your team, and very little of the rushing. For a guy of whom the media constantly tells us is one of the smartest guys in the league, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t show much wisdom or understanding of how a team functions, his role in its functioning, or why the organization might be looking to hedge its bet against him suddenly departing for greener pastures.
I thought this deal was done already. Mark Scrubreath said so 5 days ago.
Kumerow must have some nasty photos of Rodgers or he has a special off field bond with him. A guy that barely plays is the last straw in your relationship? bull.
when their reciving core is so bare and release the only outside weapon other than 17. it is natural for any qb to get angry.
He did really like Kumerow. I think this was more of a “y’all screwed up all the other wideouts and now you released my guy after I publicly praised him to get you to keep him around.” Rodgers is upset that they don’t value his input. Not the first QB to do so, certainly not the last.
The football gods are just.
They were, but that was back when they could afford Sunday Ticket.
The Broncos will trade 3 first round picks, they won’t offer any of their lead receivers (IE: DeSean Hamilton, Yes; Tim Patrick, maybe) or the Patrick Surtain II. The Broncos organization has always been a well run, well managed organization. They don’t make bad decisions roster moves (IE: QB position aside).
Then keep enjoying the dumpster fire you have at QB
So basically you think Rodgers will cost as much as Stafford but no more.
Rodgers is significantly older.
Trade him to Broncos for Bridgewater and their No.1 pick this year and next. Gutekunst is an idiot who should have taken San Frans offer. GB cannot win SB with Rodgers there cuz they ain’t got high enough picks and way too many draft picks failed in GB. Let Aaron go where he can win and rebuild. Bridgewater is top-shelf enough, like others have been, with truly good teams, let Gutekunst stew in his own muck.
Something smells rotten here. Rodgers wants out , Broncos ‘pass’ on Fields though they need a QB of the future and now they want to aggressively go for Rodgers ‘after’ the draft. And considering Elway has gone down this road before with Manning in the past, I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard Elway had ‘bumped’ into Rodgers at some point in an airport. Next we’ll see Elway as a contestant on Jeopardy.
I would think resolving all the ownership issues in Denver would be the primary objective right now. I suspect all this speculation is being generated from Rodgers camp. It would be a huge commitment by the Broncos to acquire Rodgers and we don’t even know if Brittany Bowlen would be on board with this decision.
How bout you do this trade to Denver
Denver gets
Rodgers QB
2022 3rd round pick
GB gets
Chubb LB
Bridgwater QB
2022 1st rounder
2022 4th rounder
or
GB gives up Rodgers
Denver gives up
2022 1st
2023 1st
Bridgwater QB
Von Miller LB – 1yr 19mil left on deal
You’re throwing in one too many pieces of compensation. On the other hand, perhaps Denver’s salary cap is wrecked when taking on Rodgers and Denver must shed Von Miller. If Green Bay is riding with Bridgewater (logical trade) in 2021, then Green Bay does have the cap space for a very high end defender. In that case, a second or third rounder will have to go back to Denver to make up for Von Miller. Still works.
Green Bay should strike while there’s a deal on the table. Green Bay has a hot problem, not Denver (more a nagging ache).
All Rodgers has done is show up, compete and give 100%. He earns what he does because management is willing to pay what the market demands. With his longevity and success, at this time in his career, he should be entitled to provide input as to his future. Management, if they choose, have the right to go in another direction. It’s a business not football.
PLEEEEASE
Since Gutekunst think HE can do no wrong as Rodgers is replaceable, HE should trade Rodgers now when HE can get the most for him, such as Bridgewater who is very able to win a SB with a good team around him, and 2 1st round picks. Then whatever GB ends up being is all on Gutekunst just like HE wants.