Rodgers’ discontent, as has been well-documented, is real. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reported much of it is focused on GM Brian Gutekunst, and a source said Rodgers is adamant that he won’t return to the Packers with Gutekunst as GM.
I have heard that Rodgers has not demanded the ouster of Gutekunst. But maybe Robinson’s right and I’m wrong. Regardless, this is more, I believe, about the traditional structure of the Packers, a structure that hasn’t bent much to give influence to players, that hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years.
“Do you think Aaron’s relationship with the Packers is irretrievably broken?” I asked Gutekunst on Sunday afternoon.
“No, I don’t think so at all. That’s my opinion and that’s the organization’s opinion,” Gutekunst said. “We want Aaron to be our quarterback. We’re pretty resolute with that . . . We want to leave every avenue open for that to happen.”
As for Rodgers’ reported feelings about him, Gutekunst said “you never want to see those things or read those things. He’s never said that to me and he never said that publicly . . . At the same time, I’m a lifelong scout, and we work all year for these three days. We couldn’t let this distract us from the task at hand.”
Rumors floated Thursday and then over the weekend about multiple teams contacting the Packers to try to deal for Rodgers. Though it’s possible president Mark Murphy or coach Matt LaFleur could have fielded a call or two, it’s hard to envision any discussion going anywhere without the GM knowing about it. When I asked Gutekunst about any trade talks for Rodgers, he said:
“I had no [trade] discussions with any team. I received one call from a team Thursday night, after all the news came out. I said no. That was the end of the conversation.”
It seems impossible to think Rodgers’ enmity for the Packers has come so far, so fast. But remember this about Rodgers: He’s principled. He’s different. If he feels like he’s been wronged, he could stay away regardless of any external pressure, and losing his scheduled $22-million compensation this year wouldn’t bother him nearly enough to change his mind. Remember this about the Packers: They have a traditional structure—players play, coaches coach, GM picks players—and have had such a structure since Ron Wolf built his championship team a quarter-century ago.
If, as I suspect, Rodgers feels unappreciated by the Packers, is displeased that Gutekunst picked his potential heir instead of a receiver last year, and doesn’t think he’s valued by the franchise as much as a three-time MVP should be, it’s going to be tough to build a bridge to make him return. Tough, but not impossible.
Gutekunst wouldn’t discuss the team’s next move, but somehow, the embattled GM said he remains optimistic that bridge can be built. “I think every day we’re very open to working through everything, all the different issues, and trying to get to get him back in here and moving forward,” Gutekunst said.
Takes two to make a deal, though, and one party is far from the table right now. Historically far. As ESPN pointed out, no MVP in the 64-year history of the award has ever been traded the following season, and only two (Norm Van Brocklin, 1960, and Jim Brown, 1965, both retired after winning) have not played the following season. Rodgers has always been a different guy.
As many have pointed out over the weekend, this is mindful of a story from exactly 10 years ago. In the spring of 2011, Carson Palmer decided he would rather not play football than play for the Cincinnati Bengals, his team of seven years. The Bengals didn’t budge, and Palmer started the season on the reserve/did not report list. Six weeks into the season, when the Raiders had a quarterback injury, the Bengals traded him to Oakland.
I would expect Rodgers to not participate in any offseason work with the Packers, and to hope the Packers would change their minds about trading him. Denver would still be an option, I think, and maybe Las Vegas. (Rodgers-Mahomes twice a year for the next four years, maybe?) Or, maybe with four to six weeks to simmer, and an olive branch from Green Bay brass (Rodgers loves Packer franchise history), he’ll go back. But right now I doubt it. My gut feeling—and that’s all it is—is he’d prefer to not play football this year than to play for the Packers.