No matter how many times the Aaron Rodgers situation comes up, it is no less baffling than before. Under normal circumstances, this would not be happening. Quarterbacks don’t hold out from their teams mere months after winning league MVP and coming six points away from the Super Bowl. Yet that is where things stand between him and the Green Bay Packers. There is no historical context for something like this. It’s completely uncharted territory.
From what people have pieced together, Rodgers’ beef centers on GM Brian Gutekunst and team president Mark Murphy. He feels they’ve disrespected him one too many times in the past couple of years. Hiring the new head coach without consulting him. Then drafting his replacement (Jordan Love) without so much as a heads-up phone call. The quarterback was tired of being jerked around.
So he flipped the script.
After putting together the best season of his career and carrying the Packers to another great season, he set his plan in motion. Mere hours before the start of the NFL draft, word leaked that Rodgers was considering not returning to the team this season. If Green Bay is so comfortable with Love as their future, then fine. Let his era begin now. At first, people thought the 38-year old was merely grandstanding. An effort to finagle a big contract extension from the team.
Then when word came out he’d actually turned down a new deal in the $40+ million per year range? That was when reality hit. This isn’t about money. It’s personal. Rodgers is dug in and insiders are growing confident that he is more than willing to sit this season if the Packers don’t give him what he wants. Rob Demovsky of ESPN made that clear during his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
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All signs point to Rodgers sitting in 2021 with a strong likelihood Green Bay trades him next year.
Aaron Rodgers exit puts incredible pressure on Love
Remember Green Bay fans have a slanted view of quarterbacks compared to other fanbases. They’ve been spoiled by two all-time greats for the past three decades. So their level of expectation might be a bit unreasonable. The Packers are certainly doing everything they can to prop up Love in public. He had a great OTA practice a couple of days ago and people made it out to seem like he’s going to be the next big thing.
There is no denying Love’s talent. However, most experts agree his fall in the 2020 draft was nothing like Aaron Rodgers back in 2005. There were genuine concerns about Love, particularly in regards to his inconsistent accuracy. While his natural talent is undeniable, it is fair to wonder if he has anything close to the same future Rodgers had when he rose to the starting job 13 years ago.
Green Bay better hope so.
Otherwise, their top management will be eviscerated by the media for cutting short one of the greatest quarterback careers in NFL history. Nothing would please Chicago Bears fans more than to see that organization get a taste of what quarterback purgatory is like for the first time in years.