As the football world awaits Aaron Rodgers‘ decision about his Packers future, Green Bay’s GM offered a clarification that could inject some 2021-style turbulence into this situation.
Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday his agreement with Rodgers last year was to “sit down and work it out, one way or another,” via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky (on Twitter). Gutekunst added he never promised he would trade Rodgers if a request surfaced. Rodgers’ kind words about 2021 adversaries Gutekunst and team president Mark Murphy notwithstanding, the Packers being ready for another standoff — if Rodgers wants a trade — would set up an unexpected sequel to last year’s drama.
“That was not something I told him,” Gutekunst said of a potential trade promise, via Demovsky. “Again, I think the whole conversation with Aaron last season before he came back was that, regardless, at the end of this past season, that we would sit down as a group and we would work it out one way or another.”
To get Rodgers to report to the Packers last year, the team took the 2023 season off the MVP’s contract and made 2022 a walk year. While Rodgers would be a free agent in 2023, that would come when he is 39. With his prime waning, the four-time MVP would be a more attractive option to teams in 2022 than he would a year from now. That said, Rodgers would surely be coveted on next year’s market — should this process get there. After reworking Rodgers’ contract, the Packers cannot use their franchise tag on him in 2023.
Rodgers and Davante Adams‘ Wisconsin futures are up in the air. Gutekunst said Wednesday a non-zero chance of Adams departing in free agency exists. While the Packers have not used their franchise tag since 2010, Adams should be expected to be tagged by the time the window closes March 8. Gutekunst called the tag a “last resort” for Adams. But the sides have not discussed an extension since the season ended and had broken off talks ahead of training camp last year. That points to a tag on the horizon.
Rodgers’ status clouds Adams’, however. It will be interesting to see how the outspoken quarterback responds to Gutekunst, in the event he does not wish to return for an 18th Packers season.
Something about “deja vu all over again” comes to mind…
And. With their firsr round pick.
Instead of taking Drake London Treyvon Burks Jameson Williams Chris Olave.
The packers select Trevor Penning. Tackle. Northern Iowa.
Packers select Kyle Phillips from UCLA in the 6th round.
I hope that Aaron requests a trade and they refuse. And I hope that he stays and plays out his enormous contract under some “injury” that keeps him off the field.
I hope that A.R. leaves nothing but scorched earth in Green Bay.
Then I hope he goes and wins a ring somewhere else before he hangs ’em up.
Hope is a terrible strategy
Missing Michigan I think you wishing ill will for someone is terrible. But see your user name doesn’t surprise me you are as bad as your basketball coach.
At this point, you may as well trade Rodgers instead of playing chicken with him. Get some good picks, let your rookie that you believed in so much take the field, get in under the cap, and make both parties somewhat happy.
Gutekunst’s insistence on keeping Rodgers when Rodgers might want to leave confuses me. If this were the plan all along, the Jordan Love pick (and that entire draft class) makes even less sense today. If the Packers were going to hold on to Rodgers, they should picked some players to win now. If they were building for the future, now would be a great time to trade an aging MVP that they keep reminding who the boss is.
So he’s not even allowing him to request a trade? Ok…
At this point if Rodgers has to keep the entire football world informed of his cleansing out of ‘gratitude’, Green Bay can keep him. All eyes watching — This is just getting stupid.
I’m all with ESPN, I’m sure he needs cleansing after the thorough whooping SF gave him in the playoffs.
As a Broncos fan, Rodgers doesn’t excite me anymore about football. Let’s see what his next instagram will be about? His Mani-Pedi of ‘Mindfulness’?
Dood…
I’m a GB fan and I don’t disagree. Except for the SF whooping him part. That loss was on Special Teams and not Rodgers. Anyways, I think ESON loves this stuff because it gives them stuff to talk about. They eat it right up.
Yeah, you’re right. A bit of an exaggeration on my part.
I just don’t like seeing things like this. This sort of intangible sign just doesn’t spell Super Bowl winning to me.
If the Broncos are going to pay through the nose for a star QB, give me Murray with a chip on his shoulder (and youth) over Rodgers with a 5-page kumbaya say-nothing letter for the eyes of the NFL and fans who are all eagerly reading between the lines.
I like Rodgers a lot and can appreciate gratitude, but he has to realize anything he’s putting out in social is business right now. Really naive, and just plain unappealing.
Yeah, I wasn’t thrilled with the IG post. You can’t tell me he doesn’t have the number of every person he referenced in the post publicly. He could easily called or texted the person privately.
Exactly, or have an IG that’s not so marketplace or something.
Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday his agreement with Rodgers last year was to “sit down and work it out, one way or another,”
Sounds a lot like something Putin would say to the Ukrainians.
“the Packers being ready for another standoff — if Rodgers wants a trade — would set up an unexpected sequel to last year’s drama.”
I disagree. It was very much expected and predicted even by people in these comments.
Yeah but all those experts on TV who said trades were already agreed to and stuff…
He’s getting older.
His NPD is getting worse.
Trade him now and reload for another decade of contention.
I agree use the player’s and draft picks to begin the rebuild and shortening the time needed for it.