Rodgers wants out

[Drj820]

The blueprint to beating Rodgers is the same blueprint to beat any team. Successfully rush 4 while playing coverage. Nothing different than any of the other greats.

Exactly - Rodgers just makes it much harder for a def then other QBs.

Except on the 3rd Sunday in January.

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

[Drj820]

ESPN actually published a really useful timeline of comments that I think is worth posting here.

What's gone wrong between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers? Here's how they got here

May 13, 2021
Rob Demovsky
ESPN Staff Writer

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The date was Aug. 30, 2018 -- one day after Aaron Rodgers signed a record contract extension worth $134 million with the Green Bay Packers that ran through the 2023 season. That day was largely celebratory on the part of the quarterback and the team, except for one ominous remark:

"I don't think this guarantees anything other than maybe the first three years of the deal," Rodgers said.

Three years later, Rodgers and the Packers have reached that point.

And neither side is in a good place.

Rodgers has become so disgruntled with the team, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter and confirmed by multiple media outlets, he's told some in the organization he won't play for the Packers again. Part of that is because general manager Brian Gutekunst not only drafted quarterback Jordan Love in 2020 as a possible replacement for Rodgers -- and traded up in the first round to do so -- but he also didn't communicate his plans with Rodgers beforehand.

Now, coming off an MVP season -- the third of his career -- the balance of power has seemingly shifted back to Rodgers, who had this to say on the day his extension was announced: "I want to go out and prove that I'm still an elite player in this league, and if I do that then I'll feel good. I've got the opportunity to finish my career in Green Bay, but I'm definitely not arrogant in the mindset that it would never happen to me. It happened to [Brett Favre], it can happen to any of us."

Here's a look at the events, from that point until now, that have brought Rodgers and the Packers to the brink of separation:

April 18, 2019: The Packers host Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, one of the top prospects in the 2019 draft, on a pre-draft visit. The news comes as a surprise even though Rodgers is the same age (35) that Favre was when the Packers drafted Rodgers in 2005. Still, Rodgers had never done the Favre/retirement waffling and had repeatedly expressed a desire to play into his 40s.

However, Rodgers is coming off a 2018 season in which he essentially made it known he was ready for a new coach (see his trashing of Mike McCarthy's offense following a Week 4 win over the Buffalo Bills that previous season and his disappointment that Alex Van Pelt was ousted as quarterbacks coach earlier that year).

Aug. 6, 2019: The Packers finish joint practices with the Houston Texans. It had been 14 years since they hosted another team for training camp practices. Rodgers hates them and says after the second session: "I wouldn't mind if they didn't do it for another 14 years." Shortly before that, first-year coach Matt LaFleur had said, "Absolutely, 100% I want to do this again." Rodgers' contradiction bothers Gutekunst and others in the football department.

Feb. 21, 2020: If the Lock visit was subterfuge, then what Gutekunst said on this day is pure honesty. The GM said he would be open to drafting a quarterback in the first round. In the same session with reporters, Gutekunst is asked if he would be concerned what impact such a pick would have on Rodgers.

"Aaron wants to win, and I think that's the most important thing to him," Gutekunst says. "He knows we're trying to make the best decision for the football team going forward. So I don't worry about that, but I'm not -- with all players -- you can't control that. Players get happy and sad about all kinds of things. So I'm not too concerned about that."

April 23, 2020: Shortly after the Minnesota Vikings used the 22nd pick to take Justin Jefferson, a receiver the Packers coveted and Rodgers liked, another receiver comes off the board at 25 when the San Francisco 49ers takes Brandon Aiyuk. Then, Gutekunst makes his move. He trades his fourth-round pick (No. 136 overall) to the Dolphins to move up from No. 30 to take Love at 26.

May 15, 2020: Rodgers holds a nearly 40-minute conference call with reporters during which he says he is not "thrilled by the pick, necessarily," but adds, "I understand." He also says he realizes his desire to start and finish his career with the same team "may not be a reality at this point." He reiterates his hope to play out his contract and perhaps beyond but admits, "I'm just not sure how that all works together at this point."

Sept 3, 2020: Rodgers, during an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio, says he feels good about his top-four receivers: Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Jake Kumerow, whom Rodgers had raved about since the Packers signed him in 2017.

Sept. 4, 2020: Gutekunst cuts Kumerow.

Sept. 8, 2020: The Bills sign Kumerow to the practice squad.

Nov. 1, 2020: Just before the trade deadline, Rodgers is asked whether they need help on offense (Gutekunst reportedly made an offer to the Texans for receiver Will Fuller V). "We've had many conversations about this type of thing over the years," Rodgers said. "I truly understand my role. I'm not going to [stump] for anybody, last time I [stumped] for a player he ended up going to Buffalo, so ..."

Jan. 20, 2021: Rodgers continues his c'est-la-vie approach from the entire season during the week of the NFC Championship Game, when he calls his future a "beautiful mystery." It comes in response to a question about whether Rodgers, at age 37, is looking at the game as a best last chance to get to a Super Bowl.

Jan. 24, 2021: In the moments after the 31-26 loss to the Buccaneers in the NFC title game, Rodgers questions his future with the Packers, saying, "[The Packers have] a lot of guys' futures that are uncertain -- myself included." Rodgers never got the ball back with a chance to win the game in the final minutes after LaFleur opted for a field goal to cut the deficit to five with 2:09 left rather than going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line.

Jan 25, 2021: Packers president Mark Murphy says on WTAQ-WNFL radio in Green Bay when asked about Rodgers' comments a day earlier: "I'll say this, there's no way in heck that Aaron is not going to be on the Packers. I mean, he is going to be the MVP of the league. He might have had his best year ever. He's our unquestioned leader, and, you know, we're not idiots."

Jan 26, 2021: In an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers says: "I don't think that there is any reason why I wouldn't be back," emphasizing the word "think." "But look, there's not many absolutes in this business. So to make an absolute statement about something that is not an absolute, I didn't do it. And I guess that's why it went kind of nuts."

Feb 1, 2021: Gutekunst, in a season wrap-up news conference, is asked if he feels like he needs to give Rodgers any assurances about his future. "I don't think I have to do a lot of assuring him because I think obviously his play speaks for itself," Gutekunst says. "I will say this: We're really excited not only for next year but the years to come. He's playing at such a high level that he always has, and I think this year was a special team. It didn't finish like we wanted to finish, but I think everybody's purely motivated to get back, and I think, like I said, I don't think there's anything that we have to do. He's our quarterback, and he's our leader."

March 2, 2021: Gutekunst is vague when asked whether restructuring Rodgers' contract is an option. The Packers are still well over the salary cap at this point and end up restructuring several veteran deals.

March 20, 2021: The Packers don't convert Rodgers' $6.8 million roster bonus into a signing bonus, which would have given them more than $4.5 million in immediate salary-cap relief. Instead, a source said the bonus was "vested as scheduled." Rodgers has an automatic conversion clause in his contract, but it still would have needed Rodgers' signature to become official (which makes it worth questioning why it's called an automatic conversion in the first place).

March 30, 2021: In the first public hint of serious trouble brewing, Murphy has a chance to diffuse things but does not. Instead, he refuses to say why a contract restructure never happened.

April 5, 2021: In what to date remains his last interview on the subject, Rodgers reiterates on "The Pat McAfee Show" nothing has changed in the year since the Packers picked Love. "That's why I've used the phrase like 'beautiful mystery,' because it is quite uncertain which direction things are going to go," Rodgers says. In the interview, Rodgers also mentions he would like to be considered for the full-time hosting position on "Jeopardy!" after his two-week stint as a guest host.

April 19, 2021: The Packers' offseason program begins with four weeks of virtual meetings and workouts, but Rodgers does not report for the voluntary session.

April 29, 2021: Just hours before the NFL draft begins, Schefter's story is teased on NFL Live and published on ESPN.com. Later that night, after picking cornerback Eric Stokes in the first round, Gutekunst says the Packers have no plans to trade Rodgers and believe things can be worked out. Gutekunst admits he should have communicated better with Rodgers before he picked Love.

May 1, 2021: Murphy, in his monthly column on the team website, acknowledges the media reports and writes, "This is an issue that we have been working on for several months." He says the Packers are committed to Rodgers for "2021 and beyond." Later that day, LaFleur also says he wants Rodgers back, but when asked what happens if Rodgers doesn't want to come back to the Packers, the coach says, "Yeah, I know, and I can't even take my brain to that spot right now."

May 3, 2021: 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, one of LaFleur's mentors, says on "The Rich Eisen Show" he called LaFleur the day after Schefter's report went public to inquire about a trade. "The exact truth is I didn't want to wake up the next day, on Friday, and see Aaron Rodgers, one of the best quarterbacks in this league, traded, without doing any due diligence on it. So I just called Matt and asked him if there was anything to it, and Matt told me I'd be wasting my time if we had [GM John] Lynch call."

May 5, 2021: Favre, during an interview on ESPN Wisconsin radio, says he doesn't see Rodgers "coming back and just saying, 'All right, let's just bury the hatchet,'" and added his gut tells him Rodgers would rather sit out than play for the Packers if he's not traded. Later that day, former Packers fullback John Kuhn paints a more optimistic picture on CBS Radio when he says he thinks "it's somewhere around 70, 75% that Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the Packers this year."

May 10, 2021: All-Pro receiver Adams, in an interview of Fox Sports Radio, says his future with the Packers would "potentially" be impacted by how the Rodgers' situation is resolved. Adams is entering the final year of his contract.

Thanks for posting. Rare useful demovsky article for sure.

February 21.2020 ominous Gutey comment: basically: players get happy and sad about all kinds of stuff, it’s not something I’m concerned about”

Yikes. Well Gutey, keeping the HOF QB somewhat happy SHOULD be a priority of the org, or you enter the next with a team ready for a sb run but a HOF QB wanting a trade. Learn how relationships work Gute. Every business is a people business these guys are more than pawns on a chess board. Linsley was more than a pawn too.

[go pak go]

Exactly - Rodgers just makes it much harder for a def then other QBs.

Except on the 3rd Sunday in January.

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

[Drj820]

Except on the 3rd Sunday in January.

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

I’d predict no appearance

[go pak go]

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

I’d predict no appearance

You are likely correct. Especially in terms of quantity of appearances.

But I don't think quantity of appearances is what Packers fans want based on my judgement of comments and statements every time we lose in the NFC Championship game. It's much more about complaint of not winning the Lombardi.

It goes to that whole argument of would you rather be a Giants fan or a Packers fan since 2007. Which fan has had more success?

(I would state Packers fan btw). But that's my opinion.

[YoHoChecko]

Thanks for posting. Rare useful demovsky article for sure.

February 21.2020 ominous Gutey comment: basically: players get happy and sad about all kinds of stuff, it’s not something I’m concerned about”

Yikes. Well Gutey, keeping the HOF QB somewhat happy SHOULD be a priority of the org, or you enter the next with a team ready for a sb run but a HOF QB wanting a trade. Learn how relationships work Gute. Every business is a people business these guys are more than pawns on a chess board. Linsley was more than a pawn too.

Feel the exact same way about both parts.

That quote really stood out. It feels like at that point, with that said out loud, someone should have been like "Hey man, Rodgers isn't "players." He needs to be handled a bit more delicately."

And I'm totally on the organization's side that Rodgers is acting irrationally and the response is disproportionate to the "crimes" committed here... but it seems like with the Drew Lock stuff, the contract comments by Rodgers, and the pre-draft QB quote in public, someone with an eye toward mediation should have sat these guys down and gotten some feelings out before the draft that year.

[YoHoChecko]

One note, though; that timeline DID leave out the restructure that took place in Dec 2019, which I think is a super relevant piece of info in terms of the team's thought process. They were willing to push his cap out into future years then, just a couple months before drafting Love

[Acrobat]

A lot of substance missing from Demovsky's article. More assumptions if anything. It would be great if there was someone who was actually in the know instead of the same regurgitations of vague public statements.

[Drj820]

Thanks for posting. Rare useful demovsky article for sure.

February 21.2020 ominous Gutey comment: basically: players get happy and sad about all kinds of stuff, it’s not something I’m concerned about”

Yikes. Well Gutey, keeping the HOF QB somewhat happy SHOULD be a priority of the org, or you enter the next with a team ready for a sb run but a HOF QB wanting a trade. Learn how relationships work Gute. Every business is a people business these guys are more than pawns on a chess board. Linsley was more than a pawn too.

Feel the exact same way about both parts.

That quote really stood out. It feels like at that point, with that said out loud, someone should have been like "Hey man, Rodgers isn't "players." He needs to be handled a bit more delicately."

And I'm totally on the organization's side that Rodgers is acting irrationally and the response is disproportionate to the "crimes" committed here... but it seems like with the Drew Lock stuff, the contract comments by Rodgers, and the pre-draft QB quote in public, someone with an eye toward mediation should have sat these guys down and gotten some feelings out before the draft that year.

That comment was not random imo. If you remember during the coaching hire Murphy made a point that it got leaked that Rodgers was not apart of the search and that he was told to “not be the problem”. Gutey and Murph both felt Rodgers was getting to big for his britches and desperately wanted to put him “in his place”...and the result is, well, what we have now.

Not sure why they would demand the upper hand so strongly other than ego and the way they think things “should be”. I mean to belittle Rodgers by equating him to “players” may be perfect world scenario..but just not how reality works.

Rodgers May be sabotaging the season and acting like a child...but we all kind of knew Rodgers was this way. It’s the orgs job to manage his personality flaws and make sure he is ready to play on the field during our championship window...it is them that has royally screwed that up due to petty comments, actions, and leaks.

[Yoop]

Except on the 3rd Sunday in January.

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

so then according to you Rodgers is responsible for the team losing the playoff games, I'am starting to hope he sits out, and forces a trade, see how you and others here deal with that.

as Rodgers said the contract he signed only guaranteed the first 3 years, and two of those years where on the old contract, that seems to be the sticking point as I said a month ago, wouldn't take much to right in a no trade clause as long as Rodgers play doesn't decline.

I care more about the next 3 years with Rodgers at QB then whatever happens after it.

[Yoop]

A lot of substance missing from Demovsky's article. More assumptions if anything. It would be great if there was someone who was actually in the know instead of the same regurgitations of vague public statements.

nothing vague with the article, you just want there to be so you can take the FO side, aren't you one of the people that want to start Love?

[go pak go]

You’d hate to see how these games go without him

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

so then according to you Rodgers is responsible for the team losing the playoff games, I'am starting to hope he sits out, and forces a trade, see how you and others here deal with that.

Not even close to what I said.

[Drj820]

A lot of substance missing from Demovsky's article. More assumptions if anything. It would be great if there was someone who was actually in the know instead of the same regurgitations of vague public statements.

I mean it wasn’t really supposed to be an article for new reporting, just showing the context and timeline of all the things we hear regurgitated. I thought it was pretty helpful.

[YoHoChecko]

A lot of substance missing from Demovsky's article. More assumptions if anything. It would be great if there was someone who was actually in the know instead of the same regurgitations of vague public statements.

nothing vague with the article, you just want there to be so you can take the FO side, aren't you one of the people that want to start Love?

I agree with both.

That was not vague. That's the opposite. Putting all the public statements that feel relevant into one place is the most concrete tracking of this, without relying on leaks and sources and behind the scenes rumor mills.

I agree, though, that substance is missing. For instance, the coaching search, as mentioned by drj. And the restructure that happened in late 2019 or early 2020, as previously mentioned by me.

But the on-the-record comments, to me, do shed light on this. It's wild that Rodgers signed a 6-year deal, was asked about being a Packer for life, and answered "this contract only guarantees 3 years, probably" and then exactly 3 years later, threw a fit over not having more guarantees added to it along the way. It's wild from a number of angles and relevant no matter whose "side" you're on. It shows full awareness of the process and an inkling that he may not have things go his way long before the team actually acted on that

[Yoop]

Well I would imagine the same results as with him based on history.

A loss.

so then according to you Rodgers is responsible for the team losing the playoff games, I'am starting to hope he sits out, and forces a trade, see how you and others here deal with that.

Not even close to what I said.

sure it is, your insinuating that Rodgers makes no difference to the outcome of those games, quit beating around the bush

[Pckfn23]

But the on-the-record comments, to me, do shed light on this. It's wild that Rodgers signed a 6-year deal, was asked about being a Packer for life, and answered "this contract only guarantees 3 years, probably" and then exactly 3 years later, threw a fit over not having more guarantees added to it along the way. It's wild from a number of angles and relevant no matter whose "side" you're on. It shows full awareness of the process and an inkling that he may not have things go his way long before the team actually acted on that

This very much stood out to me as well.

[Drj820]

A lot of substance missing from Demovsky's article. More assumptions if anything. It would be great if there was someone who was actually in the know instead of the same regurgitations of vague public statements.

nothing vague with the article, you just want there to be so you can take the FO side, aren't you one of the people that want to start Love?

I agree with both.

That was not vague. That's the opposite. Putting all the public statements that feel relevant into one place is the most concrete tracking of this, without relying on leaks and sources and behind the scenes rumor mills.

I agree, though, that substance is missing. For instance, the coaching search, as mentioned by drj. And the restructure that happened in late 2019 or early 2020, as previously mentioned by me.

But the on-the-record comments, to me, do shed light on this. It's wild that Rodgers signed a 6-year deal, was asked about being a Packer for life, and answered "this contract only guarantees 3 years, probably" and then exactly 3 years later, threw a fit over not having more guarantees added to it along the way. It's wild from a number of angles and relevant no matter whose "side" you're on. It shows full awareness of the process and an inkling that he may not have things go his way long before the team actually acted on that

Good point. I remember mentioning that sometime before when we were all wondering why the packers extended him a couple years early last time. It is possible that Rodgers doesn’t see a deal as valid if there is no more guarantees and this was all going to happen anyways as he fought for another extension or more guarantees. Certainly an unusual way to think about the contract, but it seems to be exactly how he thinks. Maybe in his mind the current deal is basically done and he is just holding out in hopes to get a new deal that he likes. Odd, but plausible.

[NCF]

Not as straight-from-the-mouth, but another interesting timeline piece that woke me up to the fact that maybe Rodgers is always a little pissed off.

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2021 ... umors-2021

[Gunzaan]

I hope this is worth it for him. Look at what this asshat is doing to the fan base. I understand that his reasoning behind this doesn’t include the fans - and it shouldn’t - but actions have consequences, even unintended consequences. He also has zero excuses in terms of not knowing all potential consequences - he was here and saw the fallout from Favre’s idiocy.

For as smart and worldly as he thinks he is, he has really messed this up for himself. Even talented and smart people have flaws, and ARod is making all of his substantial flaws VERY evident. Self awareness is a beautiful thing if used properly - and a real disaster if the ego is too big and gets in the way of self awareness.

[YoHoChecko]

Not as straight-from-the-mouth, but another interesting timeline piece that woke me up to the fact that maybe Rodgers is always a little pissed off.

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2021 ... umors-2021

Ok, I'm gonna have to set this aside for later in the day. Opened a link and saw "2005" as the first date in the timeline and was like "oh so it's gonna be THAT kind of article"