Packers stay committed to Rodgers amid report QB want out
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) ā Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst reiterated Thursday that the team remains committed to quarterback Aaron Rodgers amid a report the reigning MVP doesnāt want to return to Green Bay.
āAs weāve stated since the season ended, we are committed to Aaron in 2021 and beyond,ā Gutekunst said in a statement released by the team. āAaron has been a vital part of our success and we look forward to competing for another championship with him leading our team.ā
ESPN reported in the hours leading up to the draft that Rodgers doesnāt want to return to the Packers. The ESPN report said the Packers have offered to extend Rodgersā contract and that team CEO Mark Murphy, Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur each flew out separately to meet Rodgers during the offseason.
Rodgers, 37, has spent his entire career with Green Bay since the Packers selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. But his long-term future has been a topic of speculation ever since the Packers traded up four spots in the first round to select Rodgersā potential successor, Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, with the 26th overall pick in last yearās draft.
Rodgers has three years remaining on his contract after signing a four-year, $134 million extension in August 2018.
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Gutekunst said Monday during a pre-draft Zoom session with reporters that āAaronās our guy.ā
āWeāre really excited about Aaron Rodgers and his future with the Green Bay Packers,ā Gutekunst said at the time. āWe think heās going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future. I think that obviously every year thereās different things you go through to kind of get to the season, and I think weāre going through those right now whether it be contractually or whether it be working with our players on other things, and thatās where we are.
āAgain, heās such a unique, different player than anyone that Iāve ever been around. He affects our organization in so many different ways that you just canāt value him because heās so important to what we do. Weāre excited moving forward and weāll kind of see where things go.ā
Rodgers acknowledged after last yearās draft that he was surprised by the Love selection and that it complicated his hopes of finishing his career at Green Bay.
Even as Rodgers threw an NFL-leading 48 touchdown passes and earned his third MVP award last season, he referred to his future as a ābeautiful mystery.ā During a Zoom session with reporters following the Packersā NFC championship game loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rodgers said that āa lot of guysā futures are uncertain, myself included.ā
Rodgers attempted to clarify those postgame remarks less than a week later when he said on āThe Pat McAfee Showā that āI donāt think thereās any reason why I wouldnāt be backā with Green Bay in 2021.
āThereās conversations to be had. Iām going to have them with the right people,ā Rodgers said at the time. āBut itās the same conversations we have every single year. Thereās no big, āIām going to come to the table with I need this, this and this.ā We have honest conversations about where weāre at every single year, whether thatās with Brian, Matt, Mark. Iāve had these conversations for years. Thatās part of being a leader on the squad and having a pulse on the team and the direction weāre going.ā
This continues an eventful stretch for Rodgers, who got engaged to actress Shailene Woodley and had a guest-hosting stint on āJeopardy!ā
Rodgers said during promotional appearances for the āJeopardy!ā stint that heād like to be the permanent host and that he believed he could work it around his football schedule.
During Rodgersā āJeopardy!ā guest-hosting appearance, a contestant used the final question of the show to write, āWho wanted to kick that field goal?,ā a reference to the Packersā controversial decision to attempt a field goal rather than going for it on fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes left in a game they were trailing 31-23. The Packers made the field goal but never got the ball again against the Bucs.
Rodgers said that was āa great question.ā Rodgers later told the contestant, āI can see (your answer) out on the podium, and I was like, āPlease put something about the field goal on there. You will always be all-time in my book, my friend.ā
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