Report: Rodgers wants new contract (Update: May not want to return in 2021)

[LouisEly]

I'm trying to figure out how the Packers are supposed to communicate to Rodgers that they are drafting his backup when they had about five minutes tops to do so. Given that the Packers traded up to get Love, that to me suggests that they didn't plan on Love still being there and he dropped far enough to the point that they saw an opportunity to get him. If they had plans on drafting Love then that would likely mean that they thought he would be available when they drafted and not had to trade up for him.

 

What if they told Rodgers that they planned on drafting Love if he was available but then someone drafted Love before they could move up? How would that have made the situation any different? And if they tell Rodgers this... and then Rodgers tells his agent and some other players... who tell some other players... and then that gets around to the other GMs in the league and they now know what the Packers are going to do. Not what you want to happen.

[nodakfan17]

For the record, Van Halen requested the brown M&Ms be removed as a way of gauging whether or not the concert promoter had read their entire contract, which included dozens of safety stipulations detailing how all of their (very heavy) equipment should be set up. If they showed up to a venue and saw brown M&Ms in their staging area, the show could be canceled at the expense of the promoter. If Van Halen was ever uncomfortable with how a venue was set up, the brown M&Ms provided them with the leverage to immediately insist on additional, rigorous safety checks.

 

But yeah, Rodgers could probably insist on no brown M&Ms at 1265.

 

Thanks.. I hadn't heard that explanation of the reason behind the VH contract terms.

No problem. I heard that tidbit on the radio after Eddie Van Halen’s passing and thought it was pretty neat. Their standard contract also included provisions for pretzels, 12 Reese’s peanut butter cups, and 12 containers of Dannon yogurt (assorted flavors), but I think those were just because they liked snacks (who doesn’t?).

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm surprised the Packers have said as much about this as they have.

[homer]

Does having “prime” draft picks correlate to turning it around? Always seems like the same sorry franchises drafting top 10.

 

You need a capable GM too. Given how much luck is involved in the draft it helps to have more bites at the apple which is why I don't think the Bears under Pace will ever be title worthy. They'll constantly have to fill holes because they won't have the draft capital to fill them.

It's about asset management as much as having single pick in the top 10 every year. Miami has had 9 picks in rounds 1 and 2 combined the last two drafts. Of course a few of those guys are gonna bust (e.g. Rosen) but odds are most of them won't and Miami should be pretty good in a hurry.

[adambr2]

Does having “prime” draft picks correlate to turning it around? Always seems like the same sorry franchises drafting top 10.

 

You need a capable GM too. Given how much luck is involved in the draft it helps to have more bites at the apple which is why I don't think the Bears under Pace will ever be title worthy. They'll constantly have to fill holes because they won't have the draft capital to fill them.

It's about asset management as much as having single pick in the top 10 every year. Miami has had 9 picks in rounds 1 and 2 combined the last two drafts. Of course a few of those guys are gonna bust (e.g. Rosen) but odds are most of them won't and Miami should be pretty good in a hurry.

 

Yep. Having high picks, in a vacuum, is of course a good thing. But by their very nature, teams picking at the top are often (though not always) incompetently run organizations.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm trying to figure out how the Packers are supposed to communicate to Rodgers that they are drafting his backup when they had about five minutes tops to do so. Given that the Packers traded up to get Love, that to me suggests that they didn't plan on Love still being there and he dropped far enough to the point that they saw an opportunity to get him. If they had plans on drafting Love then that would likely mean that they thought he would be available when they drafted and not had to trade up for him.

 

What if they told Rodgers that they planned on drafting Love if he was available but then someone drafted Love before they could move up? How would that have made the situation any different? And if they tell Rodgers this... and then Rodgers tells his agent and some other players... who tell some other players... and then that gets around to the other GMs in the league and they now know what the Packers are going to do. Not what you want to happen.

 

This X 1000. Aside from the top couple of picks, the NFL draft is incredibly fluid - particularly as round 1 gets out of the top 10 and then GMs are both looking at who to pick in their spot, thinking about making calls to trade up and fielding calls from other teams about possibly trading down. What is the GB front office supposed to do, have Rodgers in the draft room or on Zoom with them the whole time?

 

And I still keep going back to simply looking at the math when Rodgers' last extension was signed in 2018, almost two full years before Love was drafted. Rodgers and his agent saw how it was structured and saw that the Packers likely had the option of either restructuring/extending the deal after 2021 or moving on. He then proceeded to have two rather pedestrian seasons based on his extremely high standard of play in 2018 and 2019, and the 2020 draft was clouded by COVID and uncertainty whether there would even be a full season. Given the information available to Gute at the time of the 2020 draft, if they had Love graded high and he fell to a spot where it made sense from a front office standpoint to slide up a few spots to grab him it's a move most GMs make.

 

Also - Brady outlived Garrapolo in New England after he was drafted to be the heir apparent and won a few super bowls during the time they were both on the same roster. I believe he also signed a pair of small contract extensions/restructures during that same period, both of which were viewed as very team-friendly discounts. TB just drafted a QB in the 2nd round after winning the super bowl last year with Brady, just after he signed a 4 year extension that includes all kinds of cap gymnastics. It's quite interesting comparing the two in terms of contracts and perceived front office strife when an heir apparent shows up - and while not directly due to it, also very interesting comparing the number of rings as a way of sorting out which is the better approach.

[MrTPlush]

I think the problem is the Top 10 is usually where incompetent teams draft and it’s a vicious circle of terrible drafts.. It’s also teams without a QB and drafting one isn’t exactly the easiest, especially if your front offense is incompetent.

 

Competent teams usually don’t draft long in the Top 10 before finding success with all that early talent.

 

Sometimes I feel teams are so worried about drafting the next star QB they forget they should create a competent front office first. When they don’t they waste 3+ years draft a few bust QBs before realizing the front office is terrible.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Rodgers is a baby. If half this stuff is true, just trade him for a 7th rounder to hurt his feelings and move on. I'm over the guy personally and could do without any of the impending headache, again, if this stuff is close to true. If there's any truth to him wanting BG fired, trade him yesterday.

[brewcrewdue80]

Love the reach on well Tom Brady's new team just drafted a qb in 2nd rd, wheres the angst from him? #64 vs trading up to select with your 1st rd selection in a WR heavy draft? Come on man,we're 1 full draft after the 2020 fiasco and this Rodgers' vocal coming out. Still doing comps on Favre to Rodgers draft whereas Rodgers fell to their pick. Antsy Pants Gutekunst just couldn't wait to draft Love. When you make the move Gutey did trading up, selecting a QB and cost the team a 4th rd selection, right there in front of Rodgers eyes showed him they had 2 picks left to help him get a WR from this deep draft, only worsened when they got zero. Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly. Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan nobody here believed Rodgers had a red zone target to throw to beyond Adams. Nobody here could predict Adams to have a record making season. MVS was a failure. Lazard was a new source for some receptions, but has he ever been the #1 targeted reason GB won a game the last 2 seasons? A game changing performance to strategize your defense against? 1-100yd game on 3 catches in 2019. 1 more 100+ in 2020. The team had a huge need that every draft mocker said needed a WR and in the deepest WR pool in the 21st century Gutey picked none. The biggest eff you to the #1 player on your team who needed one. Trading up is the cause of this. You flat out show you dont care for your #1 player on the team when Gutekunst did what he did. It's no surprise Rodgers doesn't have a care left to play for the team.

[xisxisxis]

Also - Brady outlived Garrapolo in New England after he was drafted to be the heir apparent and won a few super bowls during the time they were both on the same roster. I believe he also signed a pair of small contract extensions/restructures during that same period, both of which were viewed as very team-friendly discounts. TB just drafted a QB in the 2nd round after winning the super bowl last year with Brady, just after he signed a 4 year extension that includes all kinds of cap gymnastics. It's quite interesting comparing the two in terms of contracts and perceived front office strife when an heir apparent shows up - and while not directly due to it, also very interesting comparing the number of rings as a way of sorting out which is the better approach.

Exactly. I stated it before, but if Rodgers wants to finish his career in Green Bay he only needs to sign a team-friendly extension. If he wants the biggest money for the longest time then he'll be gone after 2021.

[patrickgpe]

The smart for Rodgers was to play this year, knowing that his cap hit was much lower next offseason and that the Packers eventually want to see what they have in Love. Packers would have probably helped facilitate a trade that he liked. Now both sides are dug in and I think the 2 most likely outcomes is that he retires or the Packers let him hold out, essentially ending his football career.

[xisxisxis]

Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly.

Is Davante Adams a WR Weapon?

 

In 2 games Adams missed during 2020, Rodgers threw for 610 yards and 7 TD (305/game and 3.5 per game). In the other games (with Adams) Rodgers averaged 263.5 Yds and less than 3 TDs per game. So if Rodgers needs those "weapons" why was he able to so easily perform without his #1 WR and "Weapon"? Both of those games were early before the so-called " Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan"...

[pacopete4]

Wait until Week 8 of this season and then see who is going to have a top 3 pick and trade him to one of those lousy organizations.

[homer]

Regardless of weapons, they had the #1 offense and Rodgers won the MVP.

[adambr2]

He's had a true WR1 pretty much his entire career, he has a really good TE, they just paid up to keep one of the best RBs in football even though they took another RB in the 2nd round last year, and they've constantly prioritized building a strong offensive line around him.

 

I've advocated for pushing the envelope a little more but if he actually thinks they haven't done enough to put talent around him he really needs to get over himself.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Love the reach on well Tom Brady's new team just drafted a qb in 2nd rd, wheres the angst from him? #64 vs trading up to select with your 1st rd selection in a WR heavy draft? Come on man,we're 1 full draft after the 2020 fiasco and this Rodgers' vocal coming out. Still doing comps on Favre to Rodgers draft whereas Rodgers fell to their pick. Antsy Pants Gutekunst just couldn't wait to draft Love. When you make the move Gutey did trading up, selecting a QB and cost the team a 4th rd selection, right there in front of Rodgers eyes showed him they had 2 picks left to help him get a WR from this deep draft, only worsened when they got zero. Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly. Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan nobody here believed Rodgers had a red zone target to throw to beyond Adams. Nobody here could predict Adams to have a record making season. MVS was a failure. Lazard was a new source for some receptions, but has he ever been the #1 targeted reason GB won a game the last 2 seasons? A game changing performance to strategize your defense against? 1-100yd game on 3 catches in 2019. 1 more 100+ in 2020. The team had a huge need that every draft mocker said needed a WR and in the deepest WR pool in the 21st century Gutey picked none. The biggest eff you to the #1 player on your team who needed one. Trading up is the cause of this. You flat out show you dont care for your #1 player on the team when Gutekunst did what he did. It's no surprise Rodgers doesn't have a care left to play for the team.

 

Sounds like you could really use a hug...and onfield performance in 2020 pretty much contradicts every point you tried to make in this post

[tmwiese55]

Yes, to me it's not so much about the weapons talk. Clearly management was proven right they didn't 'need' to reach there to have a top O. Keep in mind there was a run on WR right before they were up so the 1st rd guys were gone. Who knows what happen if say the MN WR drops to them, maybe none of this happens. I'm sure at the time he didn't like it but he'd have gotten over it if they'd have taken anything but QB there because at least the player will have been the field trying to help win now.

 

To me it was they showed they were willing and likely even planning to cut/trade him after 21 even though he'd given no indications he wanted to quit. To him that's a slight/disrespect, even if you can see why the team would try to plan and finally get a backup who's not a joke. So now he's using this great season to secure his future/money. I'd still guess they work out a contract since it's so tough to trade between now and season, question is just how much GB caves and I'd guess he's not going to be too friendly on the terms after last offseason.

[pacopete4]

and they've constantly prioritized building a strong offensive line around him.

 

I think this is the one that is overlooked by many. Part of me wants to see him behind a crappy line so he understands how good he has had it with our organization. The Packers have done a great job continuing to put an emphasis on this as they know it is a key to winning consistently.

[brewcrewdue80]

Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly.

Is Davante Adams a WR Weapon?

 

In 2 games Adams missed during 2020, Rodgers threw for 610 yards and 7 TD (305/game and 3.5 per game). In the other games (with Adams) Rodgers averaged 263.5 Yds and less than 3 TDs per game. So if Rodgers needs those "weapons" why was he able to so easily perform without his #1 WR and "Weapon"? Both of those games were early before the so-called " Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan"...

 

Yes Adams is a weapon. My word. He is somebody a defense schemes against is my point of calling him a weapon. MVS weapon is one thing, flat out deep routes with his speed. Pretty basic every team has one of those.

Youre also comparing 2 games to 14games. Where you can take Rodgers worst game and add it to those two and stats are below the 14 game avg. Atlanta was the worst pass defense in relation to yards given up. 4 of 7TDs were from inside the 10yd line. A run play for Jones or Williams on 1 of those that lead to a TD takes at least 1 away.

 

Going back to Chase Claypool. The guy at 29 a good number of us here suggested with prediction. Look up Claypool's combine and body. Now look up Atlantas shiny new pick Kyle Pitts at 4. The 1st non QB picked this year. Tell me where the difference is between the two other than TE-WR? 1" height? Vs +7" vertical? Mismatch? Both had comps to Charles Johnson from the numbers. Yep we passed on that Aaron with you in mind.

[homer]

Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly.

Is Davante Adams a WR Weapon?

 

In 2 games Adams missed during 2020, Rodgers threw for 610 yards and 7 TD (305/game and 3.5 per game). In the other games (with Adams) Rodgers averaged 263.5 Yds and less than 3 TDs per game. So if Rodgers needs those "weapons" why was he able to so easily perform without his #1 WR and "Weapon"? Both of those games were early before the so-called " Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan"...

 

Yes Adams is a weapon. My word. He is somebody a defense schemes against is my point of calling him a weapon. MVS weapon is one thing, flat out deep routes with his speed. Pretty basic every team has one of those.

Youre also comparing 2 games to 14games. Where you can take Rodgers worst game and add it to those two and stats are below the 14 game avg. Atlanta was the worst pass defense in relation to yards given up. 4 of 7TDs were from inside the 10yd line. A run play for Jones or Williams on 1 of those that lead to a TD takes at least 1 away.

 

Going back to Chase Claypool. The guy at 29 a good number of us here suggested with prediction. Look up Claypool's combine and body. Now look up Atlantas shiny new pick Kyle Pitts at 4. The 1st non QB picked this year. Tell me where the difference is between the two other than TE-WR? 1" height? Vs +7" vertical? Mismatch? Both had comps to Charles Johnson from the numbers. Yep we passed on that Aaron with you in mind.

 

and still had the #1 offense and Rodgers won the MVP. So are you saying we were missing a weapon on offense?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Love the reach on well Tom Brady's new team just drafted a qb in 2nd rd, wheres the angst from him? #64 vs trading up to select with your 1st rd selection in a WR heavy draft? Come on man,we're 1 full draft after the 2020 fiasco and this Rodgers' vocal coming out. Still doing comps on Favre to Rodgers draft whereas Rodgers fell to their pick. Antsy Pants Gutekunst just couldn't wait to draft Love. When you make the move Gutey did trading up, selecting a QB and cost the team a 4th rd selection, right there in front of Rodgers eyes showed him they had 2 picks left to help him get a WR from this deep draft, only worsened when they got zero. Rodgers is right to be disgruntled. Going with the (top nfl offense] argument he should be quiet, he had the WR weapons? Nope doesn't fly. Until Rodgers clicked with Tonyan nobody here believed Rodgers had a red zone target to throw to beyond Adams. Nobody here could predict Adams to have a record making season. MVS was a failure. Lazard was a new source for some receptions, but has he ever been the #1 targeted reason GB won a game the last 2 seasons? A game changing performance to strategize your defense against? 1-100yd game on 3 catches in 2019. 1 more 100+ in 2020. The team had a huge need that every draft mocker said needed a WR and in the deepest WR pool in the 21st century Gutey picked none. The biggest eff you to the #1 player on your team who needed one. Trading up is the cause of this. You flat out show you dont care for your #1 player on the team when Gutekunst did what he did. It's no surprise Rodgers doesn't have a care left to play for the team.

 

If Aaron Rodgers truly believes that Jordan Love is a current threat to his job, or that the Packers prefer Love over him, he has some next-level thin skin. That is beyond having a chip on his shoulder, and is now just being petty.

[HarveysWBs]

 

Like everything else, this is unsourced and possibly conjecture, but seems plausible. Basically, Rapoport is saying that, in the 2020 draft, Gute wanted:

 

1) Justin Jefferson, but couldn’t get a deal done to get him before the Vikes

2) then, he wanted Brandon Aiyuk, but couldn’t land him before the 49ers,

3) so only decided to move up for Love after the preferred plans were scuttled

 

IF this is true (nearly everything about this whole mess is hypothetical in the absence of more clarity from either side), then I have the following observations:

 

- While I would not say Gute necessarily panicked with the Love pick, I think he had to quickly pivot from a position of being able to align his value board with a team need, to going to best player available after losing out on Jefferson and Aiyuk (while, yes, Higgins and Claypool were still there, it is a bit revisionist history to demand that the Packers should have valued them nearly as high as the two WRs Gute really wanted—the fog of war is real and must be granted in any fair assessment). As others have mentioned, the fluid nature of the draft day environment would almost certainly make informing Rodgers about his intentions simply impossible, and if he went in intending to land one of his top WRs, it is entirely likely Gute had absolutely no intention of drafting Rodgers’ successor until the value of the draft board dictated it was the best move available to him. He clearly liked Love, but this was not plan A, or maybe even B or C (perhaps he wanted to move back, but couldn’t find a dance partner).

 

- In light of the above, the entire scenario is a tragedy in at least two senses. First, while I am inclined to think the defense was ultimately the issue when it comes to getting over the hump last year, it is conceivable that a player of at least Jefferson’s caliber may have been enough to outgun Brady and Mahomes. Second, and most salient to the present controversy, if Gute took Love purely for value and not because he thought Rodgers was washed (and he had reason to suspect 12 was declining—those who deny this are again being overly revisionist), or to make a power play with his franchise QB, but only to gain the best player available? This makes Rodgers’ response now all the more petty (though I suspect we are only getting maybe 20-50% of the story).

[MrTPlush]

I have a hard time really hating Rodgers in this situation. If he acted like this last offseason, yah, I’d find it ridiculous. However, after drafting Love he was quiet. He decided to go prove on the field it was a dumb pick. He probably felt disrespected a bit and after proving himself last year I think he found it time to give a bit back.

 

Rodgers was the guy, he is still the guy, and should be for the foreseeable future. Rogers knew that, he proved that, and now he probably wants the contract to confirm he is the guy for years to come. I just can’t blame him for that.

[HarveysWBs]

I have a hard time really hating Rodgers in this situation. If he acted like this last offseason, yah, I’d find it ridiculous. However, after drafting Love he was quiet. He decided to go prove on the field it was a dumb pick. He probably felt disrespected a bit and after proving himself last year I think he found it time to give a bit back.

 

Rodgers was the guy, he is still the guy, and should he for the foreseeable future. Rogers knew that, he proved that, and now he probably wants the contract to confirm he is the guy for years to come. I just can’t blame him for that.

I thought this for about the first 24 hours, but the longer this goes, the less likely it’s all about a contract, in my estimation. If all it takes is a commitment to 12 for the next 3-5 years, I think it would be done by now. I mean, LaFleur seems on the verge of tears when he talks about this—he wants Rodgers, and the situation is eating him up. Why would he be that upset unless there was personal animus on one or both sides threatening to be an insurmountable barrier?

[tmwiese55]

I have a hard time really hating Rodgers in this situation. If he acted like this last offseason, yah, I’d find it ridiculous. However, after drafting Love he was quiet. He decided to go prove on the field it was a dumb pick. He probably felt disrespected a bit and after proving himself last year I think he found it time to give a bit back.

 

Rodgers was the guy, he is still the guy, and should be for the foreseeable future. Rogers knew that, he proved that, and now he probably wants the contract to confirm he is the guy for years to come. I just can’t blame him for that.

 

Well said, this is pretty much where I'm at.