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Aaron Rodgers wants to play football in 2021. We know that because he didn’t exercise his prerogative to step down about a week ago.
The disgruntled Green Bay Packers quarterback hasn’t shown up for work since leaving the stage at Lambeau Field after falling to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers in the NFC Championship game.
We learned on the day of the NFL Draft that Rodgers wanted to be traded, but so far the Packers haven’t wanted to play ball. Perhaps Rodgers’ deepest motive, like his predecessor, was to skip all forms of OTA this year. Much like the old DARE commercials, I can see Rodgers saying to Favre, “I learned that by watching you, Brett!”
Seriously, Rodgers hit the shitty fork or out of the pot on the road. Training camps around the league begin July 28. The Denver Broncos continue to “watch” Rodgers’ situation but are determined to move forward with Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater if Green Bay stands still.
However, for the first time since the start of the Rodgers Saga, the reigning NFL MVP has provided a tangible timeline for some sort of resolution. While participating in yet another celebrity golf tournament, the nine-time Pro Bowler gave an answer when his future came up.
“I’m going to be enjoying the hell this week,” Rodgers said at the American Century Championship, “and then I’m going to get back to practicing and figuring things out in a few weeks.”
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For those who have wondered if Rodgers has remained in good shape throughout this saga, there is confirmation that he has been training during this offseason. Indeed, Rodgers is smart enough to know that once training camps kick off in the league, NFL teams have to jump both feet with their attacks as-is.
Does that mean Rodgers wouldn’t have commercial value in late August or even September? Absolutely, he would. But the Packers are never going to get the same maximum value trading Rodgers that the team could get right now.
Rodgers begins his season at 38 on the heels of his best individual campaign as a pro. Despite a relative lack of talent around him, he had 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns, giving him 51 points this season.
The Packers certainly fueled Rodgers’ dissatisfaction with team president Mark Murphy calling him a “complicated guy,” but the good news for Green Bay is that Jordan Love has looked good in OTAs. Still, compared to the All-Pro guarantee the Packers would get if Rodgers returned the fold, it’s easy to see why this would be the preferred option.
All of this begs the question: why did Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst draft Love in the first round last year with Rodgers arguably playing the best ball of his career? In Rodgers’ opinion, it would appear that this movement, among others, reveals a poor record of the “community and” culture “that the Packers have abandoned in recent times.
Will Green Bay finally give in and allow Rodgers to seek a job? Only time will tell, but if it does, we can safely assume that Broncos general manager George Paton will be the first to strike a deal as Rodgers allegedly “wants” to play Denver. But when is it too late to risk offering a big commercial package if you don’t have enough time before the season to assimilate Rodgers into the fold?
Eat your heart, Broncos Country. Everything will be known in due course.
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