Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers still isn’t talking about his situation. Surrogates of Rodgers continue to do so on his behalf.
Last week, former teammates John Kuhn and James Jones made it clear that they believe, based on conversations with Rodgers, that the situation can be repaired. Kuhn, appearing Wednesday on NFL Network, reiterated his confidence that a solution can be achieved.
“I’m sure contract is part of that,” Kuhn said. “I’m sure that years guaranteed is a part of that. Not just being a highest-paid quarterback or the highest paid at your position. But I believe the security going forward is a part of that, and I also believe being on the same page as having open communication where all sides feel like they are being heard. Aaron and I are friends. We spent a decade of our lives together in the same meeting rooms, on the same practice field. So we do talk. And quite frankly this is something that I believe is fixable.”
Much has been made of multiple reports that the Packers have at some point this offseason offered to make Rodgers the highest paid player in football. That’s irrelevant without more information regarding the extent to which the Packers would be tied to Rodgers beyond 2021. He wants -- and has wanted for months -- a commitment that helps him avoid the one-year-at-a-time power that Packers currently possess. Amount of contract is secondary to a structure that makes it impossible, as a practical matter, to trade him in 2022 or 2023.
As long as Rodgers has friends speaking on his behalf and saying the situation is fixable, it’s fair to believe that this message isn’t being sent without the quarterback’s approval (otherwise, he won’t be talking to them much longer). He seems to be laying the foundation to show up and call out anyone who had the audacity to point out that his chasm/fissure with the Packers was the big deal that it clearly has become.