After the Week 18 loss Aaron Rodgers said the decision to return to the Packers isn't just his to make. He said there has to be mutual interest from the Packers. 

Brian Gutekunst was ask about Rodgers comments and seemed a little surprised. Gutekunst said the contract the Packers gave Rodgers was a commitment for 2022 and beyond. 

Today on Pat McAfee, Rodgers once again mentioned there needing to be mutual interest.  He also said he wants to finish out his career with Marcedes Lewis and Randall Cobb. This could mean he's gonna retire now. 

OR the "mutual interest" that Rodgers wants the Packers to show him is re-signing both Marcedes Lewis and Randall Cobb. 

Rodgers also said he doesn't want to be part of a rebuild and then said there are only a couple teams that are actually rebuilding. He mentioned the Texans as one of them. Keep in mind that after the Lions game Rodgers said the Packers were only a couple players away.

My immediate gut feeling is Rodgers is leveraging retirement as a tool to keep his boys on the roster for another season.



"If they want to go younger and think Jordan (Love) is ready to go - then that might be the way they want to go. If that's the case and I still l want to play - there's only one option, right? It's to play somewhere else." said Rodgers.  Well, I say if they felt Love would be go to go in 2023, why would they offer him ~$150 million contract and the GM explicitly say the contract was a commitment beyond 2022? Really feels like he's angling to retain Cobb and Lewis and using retirement as his leverage.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

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Originally Posted by: nerdmann 

I still say he gave his answer with the not wanting to be on a rebuild, and he may say we are a few guys away, but what are a few guys ? 3 new wide outs an new TE and a new RB and some defensive help and a kicker? I think it was pretty much stated he intends to be traded. That's just how I took it as GB does not have the talent to win the SuperBowl next year. If he comes back it will be the end of the Packers winning ways for about a decade as they kept kicking the cap money down the road and with him coming back then retiring would cost us $100 million in dead money. Like I said just my thoughts, I see A jones gone next year, Amos gone, and Lazard gone. And we still won't have any cap space as we sit $12 million over right now without any free agents.

Originally Posted by: dhazer 

I'm not sure when "couple" has ever meant more than two. Also, Rodgers said on Pat McAfee that there are only one or two teams that are rebuilding and cited Texans as an example. 

Your list of 3 WR's, TE, RB, K and etc ... how do you fathom that to be a couple players? That's nearly a quarter of the roster. Not to mention the Packers have two ascending rookie WR's going into their 2nd year next season. 

I actually wasted 90 minutes of my life and listened to the entire thing, unlike seemingly everyone else (Hey, I got the time, you don't, haha) who is formulating full opinions on clickbait snippets.  I'm envious, you all have lives, haha.

As I laid out in the opening post. I believe Rodgers wants to be shown he is wanted by actions. Those actions being the re-signing of Marcedes Lewis and Randall Cobb. And if Packers do not do that, I believe Rodgers will take that as "meh, Packers won't give me the guys I want, so they must not want me" and take his ball and go home. Personally, I traded his ass to Raiders in Madden. Then intercepted him nine (4 Stokes, 5 Jaire) times the following season. 😂

All in all here, I think we're at the same crossroad dhazer, Rodgers ultimately will want to be traded. As I wrote in my other post that everyone read and thought was wonderful and added comments to, I think it's just time for us to love Rodgers enough to let him go.

I'm with you about Allen Lazard and Adrian Amos playing elsewhere in 2023. I think Aaron Jones gets restructured and remains with Packers.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool