Post-June 1 dominos have begun falling in the NFL. Julio Jones has been traded to the Tennessee Titans and now the attention turns to Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Don’t expect to see Rodgers riding a bicycle around the facility in green and gold like nothing ever happened.
Rodgers’ stance all offseason has remained the same — he doesn’t want to come back to play for the Green Bay Packers, and general manager Brian Gutekunst is the primary reason why. Gutekunst has created a major rift with Rodgers not only for failing to surround him with help offensively but for not including Rodgers in major decisions being made about the roster.
Why should Rodgers be part of that? Well, he’s the quarterback of the team, league MVP, one of the best players in the history of the game, and he deserves to have some say in who he’s throwing the ball to and who he’s got blocking for him.
The Packers have infamously have only used one first-round pick on offense in the last 10 drafts, that one pick being Rodgers’ replacement — Jordan Love.
There is obviously no guarantee that the Green Bay Packers are going to give in and give Aaron Rodgers a trade. If you were an NFL general manager, would you trade away the league MVP and be known for making that move for the rest of your life?
As crazy as trading Aaron Rodgers sounds, Gutekunst is not going to be in a better spot to get optimal value for him beyond the 2021 season. Rodgers would still command plenty in a trade, to be certain, but coming off of a healthy MVP season, his value may never be higher.
That is why, with all due respect to Peter King of FMIA who is one of the all-time great NFL writers, his latest idea of how the Packers can “pacify” Rodgers is something Rodgers should turn down immediately if the Packers try to pull the stunt.
King’s suggestion is that the Packers should tell Rodgers they are going to trade him, but not until the 2022 offseason. He thinks that might be enough to get Rodgers to come back for another season, show up to camp, and play his role for one more year while they get to let Jordan Love marinate for another season.
The idea does sound good on paper. So good, in fact, that it seems Rodgers and the Packers already agreed to it a year ago.
Sources: The Packers reportedly told Aaron Rodgers they were going to trade him in the off season, then backed off. It’s been a bleep show between them ever since. And within the last week Rodgers told the team.. trade or no trade I’m not coming back. Buckle up folks
— trey wingo (@wingoz) April 29, 2021
When all of the rumors about Aaron Rodgers wanting out of Green Bay started to surface, this report from Trey Wingo came out the night of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
It seems as though the Packers and Rodgers already agreed to Peter King’s “well trade you next year” idea after they drafted Jordan Love.
Rodgers went out and had an MVP season, and the Packers reneged on their promise, or so it seems. Rodgers would understandably be upset about that, and it makes sense why all of his bad feelings toward the Packers right now are directed at the GM.
If the Packers agreed to trade Aaron Rodgers a year ago, why should Rodgers turn around and accept the same verbal contract a second time?
That makes absolutely no sense if Wingo’s report is accurate, and at this point, is there any more sensible reason for all that has gone down?
Rodgers likely viewed the 2021 NFL Draft as an initial landmark for the Packers pulling off a trade. Look at what the Detroit Lions did with Matthew Stafford. They moved on before the 2021 offseason even began, giving both them and the Detroit Lions plenty of time to set their offseason strategy around a very specific plan.
By the time the NFL Draft rolled around and the Packers still told Rodgers they were not going to trade him, it makes sense that he and his camp would then leak a lot of this to the media.
All of this to say, if the Packers try to make Aaron Rodgers the same promise this year that they already reportedly made to him last year, he should laugh it off and hold his ground.
Denver Broncos: 53-man roster prediction at 2021 OTAs
The Denver Broncos will have some difficult decisions to make regarding the roster leading up to the 2021 season. Who makes the final 53?
The Denver Broncos are not directly impacted by this for the time being, but they are certainly one of the teams keeping tabs on every Aaron Rodgers rumor and for good reason. If Rodgers does hold his ground and the Packers ultimately relent, you can bet that Broncos GM George Paton will be ready to talk.