Aaron Rodgers Sets New Timetable to 'Figure Things Out'
Aaron Rodgers wants to play football in 2021. We know this because he did not exercise his prerogative to opt-out a week or so back.
The disgruntled Green Bay Packers quarterback has not reported for duty since exiting stage left at Lambeau Field after falling to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers in the NFC Championship game.
We learned the day of the NFL draft that Rodgers wants to be traded but up to this point, the Packers have not been willing to play ball. Perhaps Rodgers' deepest motive, like his predecessor, was to skip any and all forms of OTAs this year. Kind of like the old D.A.R.E. commercials, I can see Rodgers saying to Favre: 'I learned it from watching you, Brett!'
In all seriousness, Rodgers is reaching the crap-or-get-off-the-pot fork in the road. Training camps around the league kick off on July 28. The Denver Broncos continue to "monitor" the Rodgers situation but are resolved to move forward with Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater if Green Bay remains unmoving.
However, for the first time since the Rodgers saga began, the NFL's reigning MVP provided a tangible timeline to some sort of resolution. While participating in yet another celebrity golf tournament, the nine-time Pro Bowler actually gave an answer when his future was broached.
“I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this week,” Rodgers said at the American Century Championship, “and then I’m going to get back to working out, and figure things out in a couple weeks.”
To those who've wondered whether Rodgers has been staying in shape throughout this saga, there's confirmation that he has been working out this offseason. Indeed, Rodgers is smart enough to know that once training camps kick off around the league, NFL teams have to jump in with both feet with their offenses as is.
Does that mean Rodgers wouldn't have trade value in late August or even September? Absolutely, he would. But the Packers will never get the same peak value in trading Rodgers away that the team could get right now.
Rodgers enters his age-38 season on the heels of arguably his best individual campaign as a pro. Despite a relative lack of talent surrounding him, he passed for 4,299 yards and a whopping 48 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns, giving him 51 scores on the season.
The Packers have certainly fueled Rodgers' discontentment with team president Mark Murphy calling him a "complicated fella" but the good news for Green Bay is, Jordan Love has looked good in OTAs. Still, compared to the guaranteed All-Pro the Packers would get if Rodgers returned the fold, it's easy to understand why that would be the preferred option.
That all begs the question: why did Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst draft Love in the first round last year with Rodgers playing arguably the best ball of his career? In Rodgers' opinion, it would seem that move among others reveals a poor track record of "community and "culture" the Packers have forsaken of late.
Will Green Bay finally relent and allow Rodgers to seek a trade? Only time will tell but if that happens, we can safely assume Broncos GM George Paton will be the first in line to cut a deal because Rodgers purportedly "wants" to play in Denver. But when is too late to risk offering up a fat trade package if you don't get enough time before the season to assimilate Rodgers into the fold?
Eat your heart out, Broncos Country. All will be known in due time.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
