Aaron Rodgers pushes for Packers exit as trade rumors swirl ahead of NFL Draft

Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Packers is in serious Jeopardy.

Rodgers has reached his breaking point and told some people in the organization he doesn’t want to return for a 17th season in Green Bay, as first reported by ESPN.

The train began heading in this direction during the 2020 draft — when the Packers traded up in the first round to select his eventual replacement, quarterback Jordan Love — and exploded Thursday, hours before the first round of the 2021 draft got underway.

The Packers have Rodgers, 37, under contract through 2023 and have not wavered in their year-long stance that he is not available via trade.

But it’s Rodgers who holds most of the leverage. He is the reigning NFL MVP. He could afford a holdout. He could pursue other interests, including full-time host of “Jeopardy,” which is a possibility after his recent successful two-week audition for the game show’s executives, according to NFL Network.

“I do think he will play for us again,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said on a late-night Zoom call with reporters after the first round of the draft. “I’m optimistic. We’re not going to trade Aaron Rodgers.”

Gutekunst said the organization was in contact with Rodgers on Thursday, but did not share any specifics from the conversations.

“We’ve been working through this for a little while now,” Gutekunst said. “It may take some time, but he’s the guy that makes this thing go. As we go down this road, you have to keep in mind how much we want Aaron to be here.”

Though it looks like Rodgers is trying to force the issue on draft night — when the Packers’ return in a trade package will be at its most enticing and most certain — it is foolish to think the Packers are rushed into making a franchise-altering decision.

Team president Mark Murphy, Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur all visited Rodgers recently, and the Packers offered a contract extension in attempts to smooth things over, according to multiple reports. In truth, they decided to move on from Rodgers sooner than later in the moment they drafted Love. The alternative — keeping Rodgers — means they inexplicably threw away a first-round pick on a backup quarterback.

Contract negotiations between Rodgers’ agent David Dunn and the Packers began weeks ago and included the quarterback declining a restructure because he wanted an extension, according to NFL Network. The team acquiesced with an offer, but still nothing is done because the situation is about “more than a contract deal,” according to Fox Sports.

If, at the root of the problem, Rodgers feels disrespected because he was blindsided by the Love pick and that trust is eroded, then the damage to the relationship might be irreparable. Quarterbacks across the NFL were empowered to take command of their situations by seeing free-agent Tom Brady leave the Patriots in 2020 and win a Super Bowl with the previously listless Buccaneers.

The Packers reportedly rebuffed trade inquiries from the Rams before a Jared Goff-Matthew Stafford swap in January and from the 49ers on Wednesday, but neither of those two suitors nor anyone else has made a formal offer, according to ESPN.

The 49ers recently traded up from the No. 12 pick to No. 3 in the draft with eyes on a quarterback. Though they took Trey Lance.

“When the MVP of your league might be available — and I didn’t know that, I’m just reading the tea leaves like everybody else and saying, ‘Hold on, is something going on here?’ Yeah, we inquired,” 49ers GM John Lynch said. “It was a quick end to the conversation. It wasn’t happening.”

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The California-born Rodgers vowed to make the 49ers regret passing him over to select Alex Smith with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft. Mission accomplished, though critics say Rodgers has left too much on the table with just one Super Bowl ring and four losses in the NFC Championship game.

Rodgers seems to relish tweaking the Packers’ brass at every turn, capitalizing on his greatness and panicked fans who would question letting go of a surefire Hall of Famer. He has called his future a “beautiful mystery” and repeatedly discussed finishing his career in another uniform — just like Brett Favre did when he was forced out to make way for a younger Rodgers.

The Jets and Dolphins entered Thursday with four first-round picks apiece over the 2021 and 2022 drafts, if either team wanted to make a blockbuster offer that would force the Packers to reconsider. The Patriots, Saints and 49ers are natural fits but probably lack the necessary draft assets — and the Packers surely would be more wary of sending Rodgers to an instant Super Bowl contender.