The Trajectory of the Packers Franchise Hangs in the Balance as Aaron Rodgers Waits to Make His Decision
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The next couple months could shift the trajectory of the Packers franchise as Aaron Rodgers decides whether he wants to play in 2023. Rodgers has been the face of the franchise for the past 15 seasons and there is now a real possibility that his time in Green Bay could come to an end.
The speculation of what would be next for future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers began the second the Packers season ended in a cold week 18 matchup at home vs the Detroit Lions. Aaron sat at the podium and made it clear that he didn’t know what was next. The next couple months he would take some time to contemplate his future.
Today Aaron Rodgers went on the Pat McAfee show and gave us a look into what he’s thinking right now.
"It's going to be a little more time for my decision, and I feel confident that in a couple weeks I'll feel more strongly about one of the two decisions."
At this point no decision has been made. From the sound of the interview it doesn’t sound like he is leaning one way or another. He mentioned that he went down to Nashville to visit David Bakhtiari and Randall Cobb and that now he’s back in California preparing for a golf tournament. He is enjoying his time off and for now we do not have an answer about what is next for the star QB.
As Rodgers spends time away from the noise, speculation runs rampant as rumors about where Aaron could play in 2023 take over.
Trade rumors are flying around left and right as potential teams are named as attractive destinations. If you are a QB needy team you have to at least be discussing the possibility of Aaron Rodgers leading your franchise. He may not be as young and athletic as he used to be, but he is still Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers still believes he can play at an MVP caliber level. Teams will have to decide if they believe the same. He dealt with injuries all season and spent the year with young receiver talent. You can’t expect for a QB to lose a weapon like Davante Adams and not see some kind of regression in play. Send Rodgers to a team with lots of receiver talent and he is still a top 10 QB.
Over the past couple seasons the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has gone through ups and downs.
Rodgers made it clear in the 2021 off-season that he didn’t feel that his voice was heard by the front office. He felt that after all of the years he spent in Green Bay he at least deserved to be in the conversation. The Packers and Rodgers came together and smoothed over their issues. Rodgers’ voice began to carry more weight. The Packers traded with the Houston Texans for Randall Cobb just to make Rodgers happy. They were willing to listen to Rodgers’ input more so than they had in the past.
Near the end of the 2022 season Rodgers stated in a press conference that he didn’t know if the interest was mutual about him coming back to Green Bay in 2023. Brian Gutekunst was then asked about why Rodgers would say that and he said he didn’t know. Rodgers went on to say it was just a feeling that he had. For whatever reason Rodgers started to feel like the Packers may not want him back in 2023 and right now we don’t know how they are really feeling.
Today Aaron Rodgers said that once he makes his decision the Packers will be the first to know. According to Aaron the Packers have been having conversations without him.
"It sounds like there's already conversations going on that aren't involving me, which are interesting."
What does Aaron mean by this? What kind of conversations is he referring to?
I would assume that the Packers front office have to be communicating about what they want to plan for as they head into 2023. Is it possible that they are discussing potential trade partners? Potential trade compensation? Anything is possible. They have to be ready for whatever Aaron Rodgers decides. If he retires they have to know how they plan to build the team around Jordan Love. If Aaron decides he wants to come back to Green Bay the Packers have to decide if they want the same.
I don’t think it’s as simple as Rodgers saying he wants to come back to Green Bay. He’s expressed that he doesn’t want to be in a rebuild. It sounds like Rodgers wants the Packers veterans from 2022 back again in 2023. Guys like Allen Lazard, Robert Tonyan, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis. Brian Gutekunst will have to decide if he is willing to make compromises to ensure Rodgers return to Green Bay in 2023. If he is unwilling both sides could decide to move on.
We can do our best to parse through the information but the truth is even after this off-season we may never really know the conversations that went on behind closed doors. The next couple months will reveal exactly how the Packers future will look in 2023 and beyond. Will Aaron come back for another year in Green Bay or is it finally Jordan Love’s time to take over the franchise?
If you’d like to read my writing from last week here’s what I broke down: