GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst spoke about Aaron Rodgers' future with the team with reporters on Monday in Phoenix.
According to Matt Schneidman with The Athletic, Gutekunst said he tried to contact Rodgers "many times" during the offseason to discuss his place with the team. This conflicts with Rodgers' previous comments on the Pat McAfee Show when he said he would have liked the Packers to have direct conversations with him about moving on, Schneidman reports.
"Our inability to reach him or for him to respond in any way, I think at that point... I had to do my job," Guntekunst said. "Certainly whenever a player may have issues, you prefer that they talk to you directly and not do it in the media, but that's not necessarily the way he goes about it and that's okay."
Brian Gutekunst said he tried to contact Aaron Rodgers “many times” this offseason to discuss how he fit in the Packers’ future.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) March 27, 2023
“Our inability to reach him or for him to respond in any way — I think at that point … I had to do my job.”
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Eventually, Pelissero reports, Green Bay had to make a decision and Rodgers' agent said he wanted to play for the New York Jets.
Gutekunst said there is no timeline for trading Rodgers. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, when asked if there was a chance Rodgers would play for Green Bay again, Guntekunst said it isn't trending that way, but "all options are on the table."
He also said the team won't necessarily get a first-round pick in the Rodgers trade, Pelissero says.
#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst just met with a small group of media here in Phoenix.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 27, 2023
- No timeline on trading Aaron Rodgers, hoping soon
- Doesn’t necessarily need a first-round pick
- Any chance Rodgers plays for GB again? Not trending that way but “all options are on the table”
On March 15, Rodgers announced he wanted to play for the Jets on the Pat McAfee show. He said the hold-up with an official announcement is compensation the Packers would like to get for Rodgers. Prior to his decision, he said he was 90% sure he was going to retire.
As TMJ4 previously reported, Rodgers said he had a feeling the Packers were ready to move, considering they drafted Jordan Love as a replacement quarterback.
"They like to get rid of players a year early rather than a year late," Rodgers said on the show. "They drafted the guy that would replace me."
The Jets reached a four-year deal with another Packers player, wide receiver Allen Lazard.
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