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

[Jirsch]

I don' think that trade will happen...but not because it's unrealistic, but because I don't think 1265 would ever do it.

 

I think, without getting too salary cap crazy, it is more than doable. I think you do Jordan Love and a 4th for Julio and it's a done deal. All you would need would be to convert his salary next year to the league vet minimum while paying him the remainder owed in a bonus. That would take the salary cap hit to about 5.8 million. Then you restructure either Davante, Zadarius or Aaron and redo their contract to lock them up to a long term deal, and it should be doable.

 

Everything I read up on says this is absolutely possible. But will 1265 brass pull the trigger? I don't think that would ever happen. I just don't see hem giving up any draft capital for Julio (if all it would take is a 2nd round pick), along with ever admitting they were wrong on the Love pick by trading him away.

 

My two cents FWIW...

[SeaBass]

No reason to trade him now... even if they WANT to.....

Less teams can theoretically be in on him because of current QB or cap space. Also, the 2022 draft is 10 months away and the season will be done before then. Those picks are still there whether he plays or sits.

 

I have to disagree. If a team trades for Rodgers, they don't need to absorb his bonus, just the 25M annual base. If a team really wants Rodgers, that 25M will not stand in their way, they'll find a way to make it work.

 

Additionally, Rodgers sitting a year is not an attractive outcome for his trade value. He'll be going into his age 39 season and out of football for a year. Coming off an MVP season is not the same as being a year removed from one. There will still be offers, but they'll be less than right now. There's no reason to let him sit a year first and then trade him. Either stand your ground and make him retire or trade him. My personal preference is the trade.

He's 37 right now and he'll turn 38 in December so he's nearly 2 full seasons away from being 39. Not that I disagree much with your opinion. Trading him now could bring back players to help the Packers this season as well. If it were only picks then I don't think waiting hurts quite as much but it's better to do it sooner than later.

[SeaBass]

Noticing that today's brand of scuttlebutt surrounding Rodgers is that the Packers want to call his bluff. That may be true but it's stupid to leak it because that should only strengthen Rodgers' resolve. Unless they WANT him to continue to hold out so they don't look as bad for working out a trade.

[xisxisxis]

Noticing that today's brand of scuttlebutt surrounding Rodgers is that the Packers want to call his bluff. That may be true but it's stupid to leak it because that should only strengthen Rodgers' resolve. Unless they WANT him to continue to hold out so they don't look as bad for working out a trade.

When has the Packers plans been supplied to any media? Any scuttlebutt is coming from the back end of the reporter. Rodgers camp/Rodgers would likely think that the Packers would call Aaron's bluff so that's consistent since they are the ones leaking all the rumors. Rodgers is under contract. He can choose not to show up for his job and he will get fined. If he wants to sit out 2021 then the Packers can either trade him or let him sit and play without him. Personally I would prefer if they just let the other GMs know that they will entertain offers and go from there.

[MrTPlush]

Before Gute the Packers had a defense that ranked 21/22/26 when it came to points allowed. That’s pretty bad and certainly made it nearly impossible, regardless of what Rodgers did, to win a Super Bowl. It looks even worse considering how much was invested in the draft to defense back in those days (I think). Waste may be a strong word, but it was a crummy supporting cast on that side of the ball.

 

Of course I think the expectation of winning a bunch of Super Bowls is somewhat unreasonable. More often than not QBs aren’t returning that often, Tom Brady is an outlier.

 

Feels like more than once the defense blew the game in OT before Rodgers ever touched a ball. The Seahawks game was absolutely brutal. Special teams and defense blew regulation...then defense blew OT.

 

Rodgers had his struggles at times, but certainly seems the team around him and the organization let him down a whole lot more. Too bad the current front office didn’t show up 5 years sooner.

[LouisEly]

Didn't Rodgers say it had nothing do with Love?

 

He said it had nothing to do with the player. But he clearly didn't appreciate the Packers drafting him as a backup/replacement plan without somehow informing him.

I listened to the entire interview with Kenny Mayne and he did not say that. He said, "it was never about the draft pick".

 

When did he specifically say it was about drafting Love without telling him? That, to me, sounds like the media making assumptions. He said some things "were put into motion last year", but could it be about cutting Kumerow and not about drafting Love? Cutting Kumerow happened last year.

 

I haven't seen anything from Rodgers indicating it had anything to do with drafting Love and not informing him.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Before Gute the Packers had a defense that ranked 21/22/26 when it came to points allowed. That’s pretty bad and certainly made it nearly impossible, regardless of what Rodgers did, to win a Super Bowl. It looks even worse considering how much was invested in the draft to defense back in those days (I think). Waste may be a strong word, but it was a crummy supporting cast on that side of the ball.

 

Of course I think the expectation of winning a bunch of Super Bowls is somewhat unreasonable. More often than not QBs aren’t returning that often, Tom Brady is an outlier.

 

Feels like more than once the defense blew the game in OT before Rodgers ever touched a ball. The Seahawks game was absolutely brutal. Special teams and defense blew regulation...then defense blew OT.

 

Rodgers had his struggles at times, but certainly seems the team around him and the organization let him down a whole lot more. Too bad the current front office didn’t show up 5 years sooner.

 

Their defense could have been better over the years, but all of this is still true:

 

Rodgers won his first NFCCG with a QB rating in the 50s.

 

The following year had 10 points in the 4th quarter as a 15-1 #1 seed at home. He was MVP.

 

In 2014 he threw 2 picks and again, they basically couldn't score, then choked the game away at the end.

 

Last year, he had multiple 4th quarter chances to play his way into the Super Bowl and they lost.

 

There are always multiple ways a team could be better or other things that could have happened to help the Packers win, but at this point it's hard to look past the brutal truth that Rodgers also had chances to win more titles. I think he's had a pretty rough run of poor luck, and the margin between champion and contender is sometimes razor thin, but he has played a role in the shortcoming of the last decade.

[FVBrewerFan]

Didn't Rodgers say it had nothing do with Love?

 

He said it had nothing to do with the player. But he clearly didn't appreciate the Packers drafting him as a backup/replacement plan without somehow informing him.

I listened to the entire interview with Kenny Mayne and he did not say that. He said, "it was never about the draft pick".

 

When did he specifically say it was about drafting Love without telling him? That, to me, sounds like the media making assumptions. He said some things "were put into motion last year", but could it be about cutting Kumerow and not about drafting Love? Cutting Kumerow happened last year.

 

I haven't seen anything from Rodgers indicating it had anything to do with drafting Love and not informing him.

 

I think it's pretty obvious Rodgers wanted to sign a long term extension prior to the 2020 draft. Gute didn't want to make that commitment, then drafted Love. Rodgers isn't stupid, he could see they weren't making a commitment to him long term. That's what's going on here folks.

[adambr2]

He had just gotten an extension a year and a half before the 2020 draft. How often does he need to receive an extension to feel committed to? After every season?

[nodakfan17]

He had just gotten an extension a year and a half before the 2020 draft. How often does he need to receive an extension to feel committed to? After every season?

And that extension came after a down year. At the time, I remember thinking it was the Packers who took a tremendous risk by extending an older quarterback when they still had him under contract for 2 more years (plus an an additional 2 years of team control via the franchise tag).

[SomewhereInTime]

Before Gute the Packers had a defense that ranked 21/22/26 when it came to points allowed. That’s pretty bad and certainly made it nearly impossible, regardless of what Rodgers did, to win a Super Bowl. It looks even worse considering how much was invested in the draft to defense back in those days (I think). Waste may be a strong word, but it was a crummy supporting cast on that side of the ball.

 

Of course I think the expectation of winning a bunch of Super Bowls is somewhat unreasonable. More often than not QBs aren’t returning that often, Tom Brady is an outlier.

 

Feels like more than once the defense blew the game in OT before Rodgers ever touched a ball. The Seahawks game was absolutely brutal. Special teams and defense blew regulation...then defense blew OT.

 

Rodgers had his struggles at times, but certainly seems the team around him and the organization let him down a whole lot more. Too bad the current front office didn’t show up 5 years sooner.

 

Their defense could have been better over the years, but all of this is still true:

 

Rodgers won his first NFCCG with a QB rating in the 50s.

 

The following year had 10 points in the 4th quarter as a 15-1 #1 seed at home. He was MVP.

 

In 2014 he threw 2 picks and again, they basically couldn't score, then choked the game away at the end.

 

Last year, he had multiple 4th quarter chances to play his way into the Super Bowl and they lost.

 

There are always multiple ways a team could be better or other things that could have happened to help the Packers win, but at this point it's hard to look past the brutal truth that Rodgers also had chances to win more titles. I think he's had a pretty rough run of poor luck, and the margin between champion and contender is sometimes razor thin, but he has played a role in the shortcoming of the last decade.

 

This is a great post, but you are forgetting a few examples as well.

 

2016 NFC Championship: 0 points at halftime

 

2019 NFC Championship: 0 points at halftime

 

There are many variables to a football game, but it's tough to go to Super Bowls when your QB is generally terrible in conference championship games. Luckily the defense and a great punter overcame it vs Chicago 10 years ago otherwise we'd have quite the title drought.

 

If you want to know why the Packers in the '60's won so many titles, look at Starr's numbers in the postseason. They're incredible even by today's standards.

[MrTPlush]

Sure, we can nitpick to say why any player has lost a game. Rodgers isn’t perfect and can’t possibly be great every game. One glaring problem is the Packers pretty much never built a team around Rodgers that could carry the team if he wasn’t incredible. The one team that could (2010) won a Super Bowl. That’s the only win in his entire career with a sub 90 QB rating. The 2015 team probably should have done it, but at the end of the day the special teams/defense crumbled at the very end.

 

Really the only game Rodgers let us down and he should really take a lot of blame was the 2016 AZ game. He just wasn’t good that game and the defense played pretty dang well. I suppose he wasn’t fantastic in the Giants game, but no one really was in that game in 2012.

 

Hard to blame the QB when the defense continues giving up 31/37/44 points in games to get bounced. Rodgers entire career he has been expected to light up the scoreboard or they will lose. I don’t think the narrative that Rodger has been wasted and his team has consistently let him down is that inaccurate. He isn’t perfect, but as you said he has not ran into much luck in the postseason.

 

Fun Fact I Found: Aaron Rodgers lowest QB rating in a win (not including the Bears game) was in 2015 when he had a 93.5.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I didn't include '16 or '19 because I felt the Packers were major underdogs in both, in '16 just playing on fumes, really a 8-8 quality team that Rodgers took there, and '19 just not even close in the matchup.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

My point wasn't really that Rodgers lost playoff games. It was that in spite of these organizational flaws and alleged bad rosters, at the end of the day there have been multiple times where Lord Aaron got the ball in his hands with chances to play the Packers into the Super Bowl. Time and time again, he hasn't been able to do it. Once you are down 4 and have the ball with minutes left, and are the best player in the league, your defense and roster aren't so relevant. Better rosters would have possibly removed the necessity to do that, but Aaron has had his shots and he has come up short.

 

Just last year is a perfect example. Everyone crashed down on Kevin King for a PI that if he doesn't commit, it's not like the Packers automatically win the game. Chances were a lot better if they had done something with those INTs. Yeah, it's harsh criticism when you're in the NFCCG against the best defense in the league, but that's where legendary players have to come through.

[MrTPlush]

My point wasn't really that Rodgers lost playoff games. It was that in spite of these organizational flaws and alleged bad rosters, at the end of the day there have been multiple times where Lord Aaron got the ball in his hands with chances to play the Packers into the Super Bowl. Time and time again, he hasn't been able to do it. Once you are down 4 and have the ball with minutes left, and are the best player in the league, your defense and roster aren't so relevant. Better rosters would have possibly removed the necessity to do that, but Aaron has had his shots and he has come up short.

 

Just last year is a perfect example. Everyone crashed down on Kevin King for a PI that if he doesn't commit, it's not like the Packers automatically win the game. Chances were a lot better if they had done something with those INTs. Yeah, it's harsh criticism when you're in the NFCCG against the best defense in the league, but that's where legendary players have to come through.

 

Hard to come through when your coach decides to kick a field goal though.

 

I get your point though.

[Fear The Chorizo]

My point wasn't really that Rodgers lost playoff games. It was that in spite of these organizational flaws and alleged bad rosters, at the end of the day there have been multiple times where Lord Aaron got the ball in his hands with chances to play the Packers into the Super Bowl. Time and time again, he hasn't been able to do it. Once you are down 4 and have the ball with minutes left, and are the best player in the league, your defense and roster aren't so relevant. Better rosters would have possibly removed the necessity to do that, but Aaron has had his shots and he has come up short.

 

Just last year is a perfect example. Everyone crashed down on Kevin King for a PI that if he doesn't commit, it's not like the Packers automatically win the game. Chances were a lot better if they had done something with those INTs. Yeah, it's harsh criticism when you're in the NFCCG against the best defense in the league, but that's where legendary players have to come through.

 

Hard to come through when your coach decides to kick a field goal though.

 

I get your point though.

 

They had the ball at least two other possessions earlier in the fourth quarter where a drive for a TD would have given them the lead and did nothing with them.

 

It's also not lost on me the one time Rodgers and the Packers got to and won the Super Bowl, the defense won and closed out 3 of their 4 playoff games when the opponent had legit chances of taking the lead or tying the game with the ball after the Packers' offense seemingly turtled down the stretch when they had opportunities to put the game away, including the Super Bowl. Rodgers lit the world on fire in that Falcons game and was solid in the Super Bowl against the Steelers, but his performance was far from elite against the Eagles and Bears.

[homer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEY3kArDZT0

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Rodgers was pretty damn near perfect in the Super Bowl and depending on where you look, that defense was #1 or #2 and the Packers were either 1 spot above or below them. He threw some absolute dimes in the Super Bowl, the touchdown to Nelson being one and the 3rd down conversion late in the game to Jennings being another.

[MrTPlush]

Rodgers was pretty damn near perfect in the Super Bowl and depending on where you look, that defense was #1 or #2 and the Packers were either 1 spot above or below them. He threw some absolute dimes in the Super Bowl, the touchdown to Nelson being one and the 3rd down conversion late in the game to Jennings being another.

 

Don't forget the first Jennings TD over the middle.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Rodgers was pretty damn near perfect in the Super Bowl and depending on where you look, that defense was #1 or #2 and the Packers were either 1 spot above or below them. He threw some absolute dimes in the Super Bowl, the touchdown to Nelson being one and the 3rd down conversion late in the game to Jennings being another.

 

Yep, and it still took a defensive pick 6 and a game ending defensive stop to seal the game after the offense went down the field late but had to settle for a FG on the drive where Rodgers made that great throw to Jennings.

[MrTPlush]

My point wasn't really that Rodgers lost playoff games. It was that in spite of these organizational flaws and alleged bad rosters, at the end of the day there have been multiple times where Lord Aaron got the ball in his hands with chances to play the Packers into the Super Bowl. Time and time again, he hasn't been able to do it. Once you are down 4 and have the ball with minutes left, and are the best player in the league, your defense and roster aren't so relevant. Better rosters would have possibly removed the necessity to do that, but Aaron has had his shots and he has come up short.

 

Just last year is a perfect example. Everyone crashed down on Kevin King for a PI that if he doesn't commit, it's not like the Packers automatically win the game. Chances were a lot better if they had done something with those INTs. Yeah, it's harsh criticism when you're in the NFCCG against the best defense in the league, but that's where legendary players have to come through.

 

Hard to come through when your coach decides to kick a field goal though.

 

I get your point though.

 

They had the ball at least two other possessions earlier in the fourth quarter where a drive for a TD would have given them the lead and did nothing with them.

 

It's also not lost on me the one time Rodgers and the Packers got to and won the Super Bowl, the defense won and closed out 3 of their 4 playoff games when the opponent had legit chances of taking the lead or tying the game with the ball after the Packers' offense seemingly turtled down the stretch when they had opportunities to put the game away, including the Super Bowl. Rodgers lit the world on fire in that Falcons game and was solid in the Super Bowl against the Steelers, but his performance was far from elite against the Eagles and Bears.

 

Your paragraph is proving the point. Your rebuttal is knocking him for an Eagles game where he threw for 3 TDs and had a QB rating in excess of 120. Then you use the Steelers game where he had 3 TDs/0 INTs/300+ Yards against a Steelers defense that ranked #1 in the entire league in the biggest sporting event in the world.

 

I mean if one wants to knock Rodgers for not scoring a TD on 100% of his drives, have at it. Because that seems like the argument all too often when it comes to Rodgers in the playoffs, especially when referring to the 2010 run. He had one bad game against a Top 5 defense, on the road, in Chicago in late January. Without looking I am guessing that playoff run is one of the best stat lines for a QB ever.

[BillScottCanRake]

Rodgers was pretty damn near perfect in the Super Bowl and depending on where you look, that defense was #1 or #2 and the Packers were either 1 spot above or below them. He threw some absolute dimes in the Super Bowl, the touchdown to Nelson being one and the 3rd down conversion late in the game to Jennings being another.

 

To add to what Snapper and others have said, Rodgers was 24-39 for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns for a rating of 111.5 in Super Bowl 45 against the NFLs best defense. However, this doesn't account for a number of drops which either killed drives or took points off the board.

 

Dusty Everly at Cheesehead TV did a story on those drops and what it could have done for Rodgers.

 

I won't spoil too much from the article, but Everly estimates Rodgers lost at a minimum 5 completions and about 80 yards. If you want to take the best results from each drop, he could have added as many as 150 yards and 2 touchdowns.

 

29-39 for 381 and 3 TDs is a 130 rating

28-37 for 451 and 5 TDs is a 154 rating

 

All in all, Rodgers did his part and more.

[xisxisxis]

Pointing out that the narrative, that Rodgers believes and his media friends like to peddle, that the Packers leaders and decision makers haven't provided the resources for Lord Aaron (perfect title) to win multiple Super Bowls doesn't mean that it is a criticism of Rodgers. It's just pointing out that the narrative is false because there were multiple opportunities for Rodgers to make the play and put his team closer to, or into the Super Bowl. There's plenty of what-if's to go around, but somehow Lord Aaron has been given a free pass, while everyone else has the fingers pointed at them.

[PeaveyFury]

Though I appreciate the discussion about Rodgers and the merits of whether he could have done more or whether the teams around him should have been better, I'm not sure it's relevant in 2021. Undeniably, the Packers are as complete a team now as they have been since XLV. Gute and his staff have turned a dicey situation roster-wise into a legitimate Super Bowl contender in a short period of time, setting both Rodgers and the Packers up for a really good shot at a title in 2021.

 

....which is why this seems so puzzling from Rodgers' standpoint. Is your goal to win a Super Bowl, or be the highest paid player in the league? In this case, in this year, those two things don't go together.

[reillymcshane]

Though I appreciate the discussion about Rodgers and the merits of whether he could have done more or whether the teams around him should have been better, I'm not sure it's relevant in 2021. Undeniably, the Packers are as complete a team now as they have been since XLV. Gute and his staff have turned a dicey situation roster-wise into a legitimate Super Bowl contender in a short period of time, setting both Rodgers and the Packers up for a really good shot at a title in 2021.

 

....which is why this seems so puzzling from Rodgers' standpoint. Is your goal to win a Super Bowl, or be the highest paid player in the league? In this case, in this year, those two things don't go together.

Yeah, there are questions. I guess we will find out details down the road. It's why I am hesitant to join either camp at this time. No one knows exactly what was said/done/not done between Rodgers and the front office. My guess it was Rodgers asking the team to commit to him beyond 2021 - and they said no (at least at first or in the manner he desired). And that set off the events as they sit today. It was likely a culmination of many things - but that might have been the thing that sent him over the edge. But that is just my guess.

 

Again, we will probably find out more down the road. And I'll throw stones at whomever deserves it at that time.

 

I am critical of the team for letting things get to this point - and that's because good organizations don't let this kind of thing happen. They recognize the minefields in front of them and work to avoid them. But I also understand that things can spin out of control despite best efforts. Again, we will find out more down the road.