While it has yet to hit Brett Favre-like levels, the ongoing soap opera in Green Bay between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers organization continues to ratchet up the drama.
The latest layer to the story comes via The Athletic’s Bob McGinn, who reported in a new piece that Rodgers often refers to Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst as “Jerry Krause” in group text messages.
“According to sources, Rodgers has mocked Gutekunst in group chats with his teammates in Green Bay by referring to the GM as Jerry Krause,” per McGinn. “The late Krause, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls during their run of six NBA championships, was loathed by Michael Jordan for some personnel moves with which Jordan disagreed.”
While the mocking messages aren’t an enormous deal on their own, they are emblematic of a rift between Rodgers and Gutekunst that may be irreparable. Noting that his reporting jibes with what sources have told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Yahoo’s Charles Robinson and others, McGinn says Rodgers is “disgruntled and wants out” and “won’t return” to Green Bay as long as Gutekunst remains GM of the team.
There are some rumblings that the flood of Rodgers reports, which largely began last week on the morning of the NFL Draft, are a bit overblown and that things in Green Bay are not really as close to coming apart at the seams as they appear. But, it certainly seems like where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
If Rodgers continues to turn down Green Bay’s offer to make him the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback, a deal that would likely be short-term and structured in a way that would let the Packers keep their current year-to-year flexibility with the 37-year-old and make it financially feasible to move on to second-year QB Jordan Love in 2022 or ’23, he may find himself on the trade block.
But, with the team likely seeking somewhere in the range of three first-round draft picks and probably unwilling to deal Rodgers (who has a no-trade clause and would have to approve any deal) in the NFC, a trade could take a long time to come together. Salary-cap ramifications also make it unlikely a deal for Rodgers will be consummated until after June 1.
“Whatever Rodgers wants, he’s given the Packers more than three months to give it to him,” according to ProFootballTalk. “They have refused to do so, to date. For now, there’s no reason to think the Packers will give in.”
There’s also no reason to think the juicy drama drops from this soap opera are over. Far from it.
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