It Doesn't Sound Like Aaron Rodgers is Going Anywhere in 2021
Vikings fans hoping that longtime tormentor Aaron Rodgers might be wearing a different uniform this fall had their optimism deflated on Tuesday.
First, let's back up for a second. On Sunday, immediately following the Packers' dramatic loss in the NFC championship game, Rodgers sent social media into a frenzy with a couple of carefully-chosen words. "A lot of guys’ futures are uncertain, myself included,” the presumptive 2020 MVP said.
That quote, along with a couple others, created immediate speculation about the potential for Rodgers to force his way out of Green Bay this offseason. Given the context of his confusion regarding the team's decision to trade up in the first round for Jordan Love last April, it made sense to at least take Rodgers' comments seriously.
But it never really seemed like a legitimate possibility that he would play anywhere else this fall. Regardless of Love's presence as the QB of the future, Rodgers is under contract for three more seasons. He just spent the past four-plus months thriving in Matt LaFleur's offense, proving after a couple of down seasons (by his standards) that he's right there with Patrick Mahomes as one of the two best quarterbacks in the league. Green Bay went 13-3 for a second consecutive year and reached the final four for a second consecutive year. Even if key offensive players like Corey Linsley and Aaron Jones are impending free agents, why would Rodgers want to go anywhere else?
On Tuesday, making his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers threw several buckets of water on the flames that he had created two days earlier.
“I don’t think there’s any reason why I wouldn’t be back,” he said.
Rodgers said he gave a real answer in the moment on Sunday evening. And it's understandable. He was coming off of a frustrating loss in which he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns but had the ball taken out of his hands on what could've been the game's biggest play. He was grappling with the realization that one of his most productive seasons had come to an end, once again, short of the Super Bowl. It was the Packers' fourth NFC championship game appearance in the last seven seasons, and their fourth straight loss.
But unless he straight-up asks to be traded, he's not going anywhere in 2021. Perhaps the Packers would move on in 2022, when they could save over $20 million against the cap by parting ways with Rodgers and turning to Love as their starter. But it's not happening this year.
"There's no way in heck Aaron is not gonna be on the Packers," CEO Mark Murphy said on Monday. "He's going to be the MVP of the league, might have had his best year ever, he's our unquestioned leader, and we're not idiots."
Rodgers told McAfee that "my future is not in my hands." That doesn't sound like someone who plans to walk into GM Brian Gutekunst's office sometime soon and demand a trade. He'll be back in a Packers uniform this fall, and it wouldn't be surprising if he remained in Green Bay for several more years after that.
The day will come when Rodgers, who is 14-8-1 against the Vikings, is no longer the Packers' quarterback. But it seems pretty clear that that day isn't coming until 2022, at the earliest.
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