Aaron Rodgers-Packers standoff: What's behind it, how they make amends, what split would mean
The rift between the Packers and their franchise QB is complicated. Let's break down what's at stake for Rodgers, the team and whether Jordan Love is even ready.
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Aaron Rodgers-Packers standoff: What's behind it, how they make amends, what split would mean
Rob Demovsky
ESPN Staff Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers say they're not trading quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has told them he's not interested in returning to the team.
That all came to light Thursday, hours before the first round of the NFL draft, when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the intimate details of Rodgers' disgruntlement.
Nearly a week later, the standoff remains.
What's changed other than a few conversations between the two sides?
A high-ranking team official replied to that query with a question: "Have you gotten our quarterback to come back yet?"
With that in mind, here's a look at some of the questions facing Rodgers and the Packers as they try to work toward a solution:
Immediately after the Packers traded up to take Love last year at No. 26 overall in the 2020 draft, a source who has known Rodgers since he came into the NFL in 2005 said Rodgers would be "irate" over the pick but would not take it out on Love like Brett Favre initially took it out on Rodgers.
Both things held true.
Rodgers did not shut out Love like Favre did at the start. Remember Favre's memorable quote: "My contract doesn't say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play. Now hopefully he watches me and gets something from that."
But this has been percolating ever since. Two weeks after the 2020 draft, Rodgers said he was "not thrilled by the pick" and admitted his "sincere desire to start and finish with the same organization ... may not be a reality at this point."
The same source who has known Rodgers his entire career also predicted the Love pick would light a fire under him. That also held true as Rodgers went on to win his third NFL MVP award, throwing 48 touchdown passes and leading the Packers to a second straight NFC Championship Game.
Perhaps that shifted the balance of power back toward Rodgers, who seems to feel empowered this offseason to regain control of his future.
With whom does he have issues?
It would appear that fourth-year general manager Brian Gutekunst is the target of his disdain. It was Gutekunst's call on Love, though team president Mark Murphy surely could have tried to talk his GM out of the pick if he felt strongly enough that it was a mistake.The mistake, however, may not have been drafting Love. After all, a GM's job is partially to ensure long-term stability. If Gutekunst felt Love would give the Packers continued quarterback success for another decade-plus, then why not?
He erred, however, by not including Rodgers in his thinking beforehand. Even the Minnesota Vikings, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, reached out to Kirk Cousins to let him know they might take Kellen Mond in the third round last weekend.
Gutekunst proved more active in free agency than his predecessor Ted Thompson, who frustrated Rodgers by his inactivity in that market, but angered Rodgers in other ways. He released receivers Jordy Nelson and Jake Kumerow and agreed to hold joint practices with the Texans in the summer of 2019, which Rodgers loathed.
It was telling that Murphy wrote in his monthly column published Saturday on the team website the "relationship that Aaron has forged with [coach] Matt LaFleur and the other offensive coaches has propelled us to the brink of the Super Bowl in two straight years" but made no mention of the Rodgers-Gutekunst relationship.
How can they appease Rodgers?
Short of removing Gutekunst as GM, there might not be much Rodgers would find acceptable, given he's already turned down a lucrative contract extension, according to Schefter. Yahoo Sports reported over the weekend "a reconciliation may not be possible if Gutekunst remains."
Nothing in the Packers' history of doing business suggests they would remove Gutekunst.
For his part, Gutekunst has taken steps to try to win Rodgers back. He said over the weekend he would welcome input from Rodgers on personnel decisions but added, "That's not new. That's not unique."
Would trading Love do it? Perhaps if the Packers did what the Patriots did with Jimmy Garoppolo (dealing him to the 49ers), then Rodgers might return. But the Packers likely would lose big in that trade, having invested a first-round pick in Love. Unless a team loved him coming out, nothing he's done since -- he was the third-string, inactive quarterback all last season -- would drum up any new interest.
Rodgers is under contract through 2023 but does not have any more guaranteed money on the deal. At one point, according to Schefter's sources, that's what Rodgers sought. But by the time the Packers got around to offering that, it was too late.
What if Rodgers refused to show?
The only thing mandatory between now and the start of training camp is the three-day minicamp in June.Article 42(b) of the collective bargaining agreement says "unexcused failure to report to or unexcused departure from mandatory offseason minicamp [carries] a maximum fine of $15,515 for the first missed day, $31,030 for the second missed day and $46,540 for the third missed day." A player who misses all three days would be fined a total of $93,085.