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

[SeaBass]

Tim Boyle's tenure as "the" backup would last about 1 game. If Tim Boyle were a good enough QB to maintain the Packers playoff status in the event of a Rodgers injury then there wouldn't have been much need to draft Love in the first place.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

But trading up just to trade a guy later would be an odd move.

 

The Packers have zero reason to considering trading Love right now. In a perfect world, he is a talented, cheap backup QB for the next 3 seasons. Rodgers is a pretty durable QB, but there is certainly value in having a talented guy behind him. Even if the Packers cannot recoup a 1st rounder when/if they deal Love down the road, they are still getting the value of having a potential quality backup sitting behind their franchise QB.

 

I mean, he's not really that cheap. I think Jameis Winston got less than 2 million from New Orleans this year.

 

And Love isn't even the backup. Tim Boyle is. I guess that's not alarming for his rookie season, but if Love is still relegated to being a healthy gameday scratch after a second training camp, that's definitely cause for concern on his development pace.

 

If he does progress as hoped I agree there's value in a good backup, but I don't think you spend a 1st+3rd on a guy with the intent of him being a backup his entire time here.

 

And Jameis Winston kinda sucks. Case in point ... the team he struggled to get to a .500 record is going to the Super Bowl in a couple weeks, with largely the same supporting cast.

 

And yeah, with an abbreviated preseason and no preseason games, the Packers chose to go with the experienced clipboard-holding guy to be active on game days over the untested rookie. There is nothing surprising about that. I agree, if Love is still the 3rd stringer next year, that is cause for concern. I don't believe that will happen, though.

 

Also, the Packers traded their 1st and a late 4th, not a 3rd.

[MrTPlush]

Aaron Rodgers has already clarified his comments and Mark Murphy has put to bed any chance of Aaron Rodgers leaving this off-season.

 

And I quote Murphy, “We are not idiots.”

[PinaMadness]

Posting this for the video, not the article. It's just opinion and speculation on Charles Robinson's part but I found it pretty interesting.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/packers-president-mark-murphy-were-not-idiots-aaron-rodgers-will-be-back-170045010.html

[MrTPlush]

Posting this for the video, not the article. It's just opinion and speculation on Charles Robinson's part but I found it pretty interesting.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/packers-president-mark-murphy-were-not-idiots-aaron-rodgers-will-be-back-170045010.html

 

Pretty much piggybacked off that big rumor article that has already been talked about here. Is he actually close with Favre though? I know they have talked in more recent years...but he makes them sound like buddies.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Haven't seen the video, but I'm pretty sure Rodgers visited Favre in Mississippi one of the last few years. I don't know if they're BFF or anything but they seem to be friends.

[CheezWizHed]

And Love isn't even the backup. Tim Boyle is.

 

You must know that this is a technicality, but brought this up multiple times. If Rodgers got hurt this year, Love was starting the next game, not Boyle.

 

This is probably 90% true for 2021, but I'm not sure how you say it for 2020. If that was true, Boyle never would've been on the roster and active for every game this year.

 

If we have a normal training camp in 2020, it wouldn't take too much for Love to build enough confidence to displace Boyle, but without it, he was still the safer option. If Rogers was out for the season and the team was out of the playoffs, then you probably give Love the shot. But for a couple game hold-over (a la Brees situation), Boyle was mostly the best option.

 

As for Rodgers, I've states several times that restructuring his contract was the easiest way to free up cap space, so this really isn't all that big of a deal to me. Though, I'm a bit dubious (as others have said) that it came out so soon.

[PeaveyFury]

And Love isn't even the backup. Tim Boyle is.

 

You must know that this is a technicality, but brought this up multiple times. If Rodgers got hurt this year, Love was starting the next game, not Boyle.

 

This is probably 90% true for 2021, but I'm not sure how you say it for 2020. If that was true, Boyle never would've been on the roster and active for every game this year.

 

Sorry, I don't agree. I think Boyle was active because he was a better option to muddle them through a game due to immediate knowledge of the offense. But anything longer-term, completely IMO of course, would have fallen to Love.

[SeaBass]

Aaron Rodgers has already clarified his comments and Mark Murphy has put to bed any chance of Aaron Rodgers leaving this off-season.

 

And I quote Murphy, “We are not idiots.”

Murphy's statement came on a radio show yesterday (before the story posted in this thread was published) and Rodgers clarifying his Sunday comments do not exclude the possibility that he wants a contract extension.

 

 

From article:

"Former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk asked him a question about revisiting his contract and Rodgers said he expects to have conversations with General Manager Brian Gutekunst, team president Mark Murphy and others now that the season is over."

 

That's not a denial.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Aaron Rodgers has already clarified his comments and Mark Murphy has put to bed any chance of Aaron Rodgers leaving this off-season.

 

And I quote Murphy, “We are not idiots.”

Murphy's statement came on a radio show yesterday (before the story posted in this thread was published) and Rodgers clarifying his Sunday comments do not exclude the possibility that he wants a contract extension.

 

 

From article:

"Former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk asked him a question about revisiting his contract and Rodgers said he expects to have conversations with General Manager Brian Gutekunst, team president Mark Murphy and others now that the season is over."

 

That's not a denial.

 

I think TPlush was referring to putting to bed the "uncertain future" meaning he could be elsewhere in 2021. That was always a bit of a stretch. Beyond next season I think most bets are off.

[MrTPlush]

Aaron Rodgers has already clarified his comments and Mark Murphy has put to bed any chance of Aaron Rodgers leaving this off-season.

 

And I quote Murphy, “We are not idiots.”

Murphy's statement came on a radio show yesterday (before the story posted in this thread was published) and Rodgers clarifying his Sunday comments do not exclude the possibility that he wants a contract extension.

 

 

From article:

"Former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk asked him a question about revisiting his contract and Rodgers said he expects to have conversations with General Manager Brian Gutekunst, team president Mark Murphy and others now that the season is over."

 

That's not a denial.

 

I think TPlush was referring to putting to bed the "uncertain future" meaning he could be elsewhere in 2021. That was always a bit of a stretch. Beyond next season I think most bets are off.

 

That is correct, sorry the confusion. Figure it made more sense to put it in an Aaron Rodgers thread.

 

Rodgers said retiring a Packer is still a “dream scenario”. So yah...I don’t think he is ever going to claw his way out. If the Packers want to move on I think he is content, but I doubt he personally tries to force their hand.

[FVBrewerFan]

I brought this up in the other thread yesterday, I figured one side or the other wanted to restructure, so wouldn't be surprised if this story is true. Not sure why the Packers wouldn't do it. Not much downside. Free up cap space for next year, and ride your elite QB for a few more years. You can pull the plug at any time and rebuild.

 

Only downside is not raking in multiple draft picks for a trade after next season, but I can't fathom why they would trade him anyhow. And actually, I don't care about Jordan Love. If he really is a stud, flip him or he's a great backup to have.

[HiAndTight]

PFT basically throws everything at the wall. This being true is not a big shock to me, I just would like some verification rather than ominous "report" 24 hours after the NFCCG.

 

 

They really do. They seem to come up with these stories with Florio and Simms just BS'ing and kinda guessing. I think I saw at least a couple of posters on here BEFORE any report came out suggest that Rodgers would use this to get a new contract.

 

And if he does, fine. The dude deserves that type of pull and to know where he stands. But I don't think he's going to risk holding out...and I don't think he's ever going to get into a big spat with the Packers like Favre did. He may exert some pressure(again, total speculation) and if he does...frankly they should just work with him.

 

Extend, restructure, give him more money now, make the deal longer and if you have to eat a big cap number in 3 years when he retires or you do trade him...oh well, that's the cost of having a great QB and creating space to try and win a few more times with him.

 

So I wouldn't be surprised, but I agree, I think it's just as likey they pulled this out of thin air because they talked through it and it made sense to them.

 

 

Edit-Ok, I remembered slightly wrong, but if I'd have read to the end of the thread, FVBrewerfan was one of those who speculated they could be restructuring;

 

I brought this up in the other thread yesterday, I figured one side or the other wanted to restructure, so wouldn't be surprised if this story is true. Not sure why the Packers wouldn't do it. Not much downside. Free up cap space for next year, and ride your elite QB for a few more years. You can pull the plug at any time and rebuild.

[HiAndTight]

I love Aaron Rodgers and what he's done in his career. But I'm far more of a Green Bay Packers fan than I am an Aaron Rodgers fan, so if he starts pulling any "Brett Favre circa 2007" crap and creating drama, or making demands, he should be gone. I personally think this is much ado about nothing, though. Click bait.

 

I think the Packers are going to find a way to load up for a "go for it" year in 2021. That likely includes getting a high-quality #2 receiver on offense (think Allen Robinson), and making some wholesale defensive changes, likely starting with a change at defensive coordinator. They need another disruptor on the D-line, and more speed at ILB. They also need a better quality CB opposite Alexander. Can they do all this? It's going to be tough, and will likely set them up for salary cap hell down the road, but enough is enough. I'm sick of being "almost good enough".

 

 

At this point, if there's a break, I may for the first time in my life side with the player. Rodgers hasn't made demands, he hasn't shown he's anything like Favre and he came out and was by all accounts a great leader and a good mentor to Love. And while I was alright with the Love pick because I thought it'd be 4 years(potentially) and he was a project and you don't know how long Rodgers will play, the term "don't throw good money after bad," kinda comes to mind, but if you just change money with dumb ideas. Don't piss off the best player in franchise history(with respect to Reggie and Don) while he's still playing at an MVP level.

 

And Rodgers has said his dream scenario is to finish his career in GB and Murphy said they're not idiots, they're not letting him go. So...problem solved. You might have made a bad call last year by picking a QB. Though I wouldn't force a trade. Nothing wrong with have a talented young backup. But Jordan Love should not dictate how or when Rodgers leaves.

[logan82]

Give it a month beyond a disappointing season before reading anything into it. I really like the Packers drafting Love. Good move to draft a replacement to be an understudy for a few years before being a starter. More teams should do that. worked good when they drafted Rodgers right?

 

Maybe they can trade him to the 49ers(my team). How good would they be if they didn't have a glut of injuries and a decent QB. Grapalo sucks.

[SeaBass]

I love Aaron Rodgers and what he's done in his career. But I'm far more of a Green Bay Packers fan than I am an Aaron Rodgers fan, so if he starts pulling any "Brett Favre circa 2007" crap and creating drama, or making demands, he should be gone. I personally think this is much ado about nothing, though. Click bait.

 

I think the Packers are going to find a way to load up for a "go for it" year in 2021. That likely includes getting a high-quality #2 receiver on offense (think Allen Robinson), and making some wholesale defensive changes, likely starting with a change at defensive coordinator. They need another disruptor on the D-line, and more speed at ILB. They also need a better quality CB opposite Alexander. Can they do all this? It's going to be tough, and will likely set them up for salary cap hell down the road, but enough is enough. I'm sick of being "almost good enough".

 

 

At this point, if there's a break, I may for the first time in my life side with the player. Rodgers hasn't made demands, he hasn't shown he's anything like Favre and he came out and was by all accounts a great leader and a good mentor to Love. And while I was alright with the Love pick because I thought it'd be 4 years(potentially) and he was a project and you don't know how long Rodgers will play, the term "don't throw good money after bad," kinda comes to mind, but if you just change money with dumb ideas. Don't piss off the best player in franchise history(with respect to Reggie and Don) while he's still playing at an MVP level.

 

And Rodgers has said his dream scenario is to finish his career in GB and Murphy said they're not idiots, they're not letting him go. So...problem solved. You might have made a bad call last year by picking a QB. Though I wouldn't force a trade. Nothing wrong with have a talented young backup. But Jordan Love should not dictate how or when Rodgers leaves.

My view on Rodgers is he has a right to do what's best for himself. I've been pretty pro-player in these types of scenarios in general, Le'veon Bell etc., and across all pro sports. If a player feels his franchise isn't serving his career in the best way possible whether for financial or competitive reasons I respect their decisions, perhaps with a few caveats. Antonio Brown is kind of a special (nut) case, I don't much care about where his career goes anymore, whatever goodwill he may have been due has been used up and then some as far as I'm concerned.

 

Back to Rodgers, I'd most likely support his right to do whatever he wants, I'd just hope he does it as respectfully as the situation allows, which is difficult in its own right but it can be done. However it ends I remain a Packers fan first and foremost. I root first for the clothes, then the individual. I want him to remain a Packer for as long as possible. Despite how I framed a response in my initial post of this thread I'm not rooting for drama.

 

I also have now watched the portion of Rodgers comments on the Pat McAfee show and Rodgers is framing a lot of his comments as if his current actions/statements are not much different than what happens at the end of any season. So the earlier quote from the article where it suggested Rodgers would be talking to the top brass about his contract, that may be true and it may not be true, he didn't specify it in that context. He simply said they usually have sit down meetings at the end of the season to have "honest conversations" about how things played out over the course of the season and how that all sits with everyone, etc. Reasonable but also vague. Only he knows what he's really thinking about his contract situation.

 

So, left to speculate as reasonably as possible, and from what Rodgers has said recently and in the past, he envisioned playing his entire career for one team and thought that would be a unique and special thing that is rare in sports. He doesn't know that it will happen but it's part of the "dream". He might seek a contract extension/enhancement simply to secure a 3 season window of SB contention with the Packers and make the presence of Jordan Love less of a threat to his remaining with the team. The thought being that if the club extends him it pushes back the threshold of when it would make sense to move on, cap space wise, from after the 2021 season as it sits currently to after the 2023 season, which is also when Jordan Love's current contract will expire.

[MrTPlush]

I’ve always thought you could just keep Rodgers till Love’s contract expires and then make the switch if you really wanted to. I’m sure one could easily sign Jordan Love to another contract quite easily and just gamble a bit. Sure you waste his entire rookie contract, but I don’t think there is a huge threat for him to leave for nothing.

 

If he is garbage the money won’t really matter since the franchise will be set back years trying to find a new QB.

 

Basically do what the Patriots tried to do with Goroppolo.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This has been pointed out, but Love sitting on the bench for the duration of this contract doesn't make his contract a waste. It is a luxury to have a day one draft pick for a back-up QB and comes at a better value than paying somebody like Chad Henne.

 

Yeah he might suck, but until you know that it is a decent problem to have.

[PeaveyFury]

The problem with letting Love sit through his contract is that you lose the main luxury of having his contract count so little against the cap, while most other starting QBs make up gobs of teams' cap. That's been a main formula for success for teams like Seattle- Wilson was paid next to nothing when he went to his 2 SBs, and they used the remaining cap room to build a massively talented team/defense around him. As soon as they had to pay him, their success decreased a bit as they bled talent off the roster because of money. So, there's no harm, but it does decrease the benefit.

[SeaBass]

He can be a good quality backup or if he flashes enough in preseason, any year, or gets some fill in time due to a Rodgers injury and performs well he becomes a trade asset. There are many possibilities where Love brings the team value without ever becoming the starter.

 

I think we'll see more QBs selected in the draft in coming seasons as well, probably (hopefully?) not in the first round but I don't envision the Packers putting all their eggs in Love's basket.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't envision the Packers putting all their eggs in Love's basket.

 

What Peavey just alluded to is why it doesn't typically come down to this. The recent trend is to get bang for your buck off the one position you have to pay a ton to eventually. So you utilize the cheap years and surround them with talent everywhere.

 

The curveball I can think of is that Love hits FA, Rodgers retires or leaves that same year. He's a FA and the job is his, but what kind of deal does he get if he's never played a game? I'd guess in such a scenario the Packers would extend him during the previous season and then leave Rodgers no choice. But it's interesting to me to wonder what kind of money a 1st round pick would get going onto his 2nd deal without ever really playing. I don't know that that has ever happened before.

[PeaveyFury]

I don't envision the Packers putting all their eggs in Love's basket.

 

What Peavey just alluded to is why it doesn't typically come down to this. The recent trend is to get bang for your buck off the one position you have to pay a ton to eventually. So you utilize the cheap years and surround them with talent everywhere.

 

The curveball I can think of is that Love hits FA, Rodgers retires or leaves that same year. He's a FA and the job is his, but what kind of deal does he get if he's never played a game? I'd guess in such a scenario the Packers would extend him during the previous season and then leave Rodgers no choice. But it's interesting to me to wonder what kind of money a 1st round pick would get going onto his 2nd deal without ever really playing. I don't know that that has ever happened before.

 

Agreed. And I think this scenario is exactly why, if they do think Love is the guy, they won't do a 'rebuild' when Rodgers leaves. They'll want to take advantage of the cap for 2-3 years since they can spend like crazy in free agency, and if you trade Rodgers, you'd presumably be getting serious draft capital back as well.

 

But, I certainly agree with the 'eggs in one basket' point. I'm certain they'll continue to draft QBs at spots of value along the way, similar to how Thompson and Wolf did despite the HOF QBs on their roster already.

[SeaBass]

Sure that's the given, sorry if it seemed I was dismissing that part of your statement, it was acceptance over dismissal. If we're choosing Rodgers over Love, and I think most of us are at this point, then value has to be found in plan B, C or D.

[CheezWizHed]

Nothing against Love, but the chances of him (or any rookie QB) having a season like Rodgers had is very, very low. Hopefully, the Packers struck gold three times an a row... but I'd rather ride Rodgers until he shows he can't do it anymore. One two QBs had a season better than he just had (by QBR) and one of them was himself.

 

Love is a sunk cost. Maybe he sits 3 years and becomes the next HOF QB, but there is a much higher chance he is a bust or just average than reaching HOF level. Can't make a bad decision (dumping Rodgers early) just because we spent a 1st round draft pick on a QB. Still need to make good decisions for the team now regardless of past decisions.

[HiAndTight]

Nothing against Love, but the chances of him (or any rookie QB) having a season like Rodgers had is very, very low. Hopefully, the Packers struck gold three times an a row... but I'd rather ride Rodgers until he shows he can't do it anymore. One two QBs had a season better than he just had (by QBR) and one of them was himself.

 

Love is a sunk cost. Maybe he sits 3 years and becomes the next HOF QB, but there is a much higher chance he is a bust or just average than reaching HOF level. Can't make a bad decision (dumping Rodgers early) just because we spent a 1st round draft pick on a QB. Still need to make good decisions for the team now regardless of past decisions.

 

 

That should be taken for granted. And we should remember the Packers did try to talk Favre into coming back when he retired after Rodgers had already spent 4 years on the bench. Favre wasn't playing at the same level Rodgers is(anywhere near it actually) and Rodgers by year 3 had shown he had quite a bit of talent.

 

So if things play out as they did with Rodgers taking over, I'll be fine with it. Largely because I don't think Rodgers is going to hem and haw about coming back.

 

The best case is the Packers restructure Rodgers, they free up cap space and they use it to improve this team. I don't think we'll see them quite go the route of the Saints, but if they could add a player or two...PFF has them signing Will Fuller to a massive deal which I think is unrealistic. If they were to spend on a FA, Taylor Morton would be the guy I think I'd prefer. A 26-year-old versatile Tackle. Spending crazy money on Bahk makes it far less likely, but if one thing has killed the Packers the last two years, it's been teams with two edge rushers who can make Rodgers life hell. I'd rather they add an established tackle than spend on someone like Will Fuller or even Robinson who is a lot like Adams himself(though...to play Devils advocate, they did try to sign him when he signed with the Bears and does seem like he wants to play with an elite QB at some point).

 

But that's probably as likely as they spending 18.5 million per year on a WR'er who's constantly hurt.

 

More realistic would be Mike Hilton or Troy Hill, cheaper CB's who are better in man than Chandon Sullivan, and then target younger Corners and OT's in the draft.

 

Keeping most of this team together and adding a couple of pieces in the draft and the continued progress from our young core...in theory at least, should be good enough to keep this team playing at a high level.