Packers Still ‘Will Not’ Trade Aaron Rodgers

A source tells Matt Schneidman of The Athletic that Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is still holding firm on the team’s stance and “will not” trade QB Aaron Rodgers.

The June 1 date is important for NFL teams, as it will allow the cap hits incurred from moves like this to be spread over two seasons. This makes trades of notable players like Rodgers much easier to process from a cap standpoint.

It remains to be seen how all of this will play out, but Green Bay has been clear about having no intentions of trading the MVP, despite reports that he wants out of Green Bay. 

Rodgers has skipped the voluntary portion of offseason workouts and it seems likely he will also miss mandatory minicamp in the coming weeks, which leaves training camp as the next big date to watch for this situation.

Rodgers’ only comments regarding the situation came during an appearance on ESPN last week. While Rodgers didn’t offer much in terms of specifics regarding the situation with the Packers, he did say that it is not about Jordan Love and more of an issue with the organizational philosophy in Green Bay. 

“With my situation, look it’s never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I love Jordan; he’s a great kid. [We’ve had] a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. An incredible 16 years. It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”

Rodgers admitted that winning the MVP last year threw a “wrench” into a situation that was already put in motion. 

“A lot of this was put in motion last year and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year,” Rodgers said. “This is just kind of, I think, a spill-out of all that. But it is about the people, and that’s the most important thing. Green Bay has always been about the people — from Curly Lambeau being owner and founder to the 60s with Lombardi and Bart Starr and all those incredible names to the 90s teams with coach Holmgren and Favrey and the Minister of Defense to the run that we’ve been on. It’s about the people.”

“I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization,” Rodgers said. “History is important, legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. People make an organization, people make a business and sometimes that gets forgotten. Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people, not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It’s built by the people.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play a number of amazing, amazing people and got to work for some amazing people as well. It’s those people that build foundation of those entities. I think sometimes we forget that.”

Green Bay can begin fining Rodgers for skipping workouts starting on June 8 during their mandatory minicamp. 

Green Bay has reportedly offered Rodgers a contract extension. However, the details of their offer aren’t known and it’s possible that a contract alone wouldn’t change much from Rodgers’ end, as there could still be questions about his future with the team. 

Rodgers, 37, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that includes over $100 million guaranteed in 2018. 

Rodgers is owed base salaries of $15,050,000 and $25 million over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2020, Rodgers appeared in all 16 games for the Packers and completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 4,299 yards, 48 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns.

We’ll have more regarding Rodgers and the Packers as the news is available.