GREEN BAY, Wis. — Watch quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ speech when he accepted the MVP award on Saturday night and you might conclude one thing about his future with the Green Bay Packers. Hear what he has to say in his 11-minute news conferenceYou might have other ideas. He walked off the NFL Honors stage moments later. Check out the reports, which include one by ESPN’s Adam SchefterThat was the Super Bowl morning announcement, and you may be swayed in a completely different direction.
Reality is that everyone is only reading the tea leaves right now. If anyone knows what Rodgers has planned for the 2022 season and beyond, it’s probably only him, and perhaps his “inner circle” as he called itSaturday night
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Rodgers has said repeatedly he won’t take long to decide, and he offered the franchise-tag window (Feb. 22 to March 8) as a possible timeframeIt would tie into the receiver Davante Adams’ future with the Packers – something that would seemingly be a prerequisite for Rodgers’ return.
While the Packers wait for Rodgers to decide, they’ve taken every opportunity to make it clear they want him back. And while it would seem obvious any team in their position would want the same thing, the Packers’ overtly public approach also says something else: They learned from the Brett Favre divorce in 2008, and they don’t want to lose in the court of public opinion like they did in that case.
Mark Murphy, Packers president, presided over the strange Favre-to-Rodgers transfer. Although Brian Gutekunst was an Area Scout at the time, he was a general manager under Ted Thompson. Thompson and Murphy were Public Enemy Nos. 1a, and 1b respectively in the summer 2008. Favre’s return to the Packers as a player was viewed by a large percentage of the fans.
They made it clear that Rodgers would like to end his career with the Packers. If Rodgers decides to retire or play for another club, the Packers will be able now to claim that they did everything in their power to prevent it.
What would it do to change the public’s opinion about Rodgers leaving? Only Rodgers’ fans can answer this question.
This year, the vibe is completely different. From praising Murphy, Gutekunst and vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball to thanking “our incredible fan base” to saying it has been “an amazing 17 years” to acknowledging the issues he had with the team last offseason have been adequately addressed, Rodgers has made it known that he’s not bitter or unhappy with the organization.
If he so chooses, he can now walk away and claim that he took the high road. His post-MVP news conference provided an answer.
“I was obviously frustrated about some things in the offseason,” Rodgers said. “We had a ton of conversations, and I just felt like there was so much growth, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for the relationships -– with Brian as much as anybody because there was obviously some things that were voiced in the offseason, privately between him and myself, and I’m just thankful for the response. There were many things that made me feel special and important to the franchise’s future, past and present. And I’ve got to say that Russ and Brian especially had a big hand in that. And it didn’t go unnoticed.”
All of this will have no impact on Rodgers’ return to Packers. But, it is possible that there will be more until Rodgers makes a decision.