Former Packers receiver James Jones has been talking to current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and also talking on TV about their conversations. Jones appeared Monday on NFL Network to discuss the latest development in the dysfunctional relationship between Rodgers and the Green Bay front office — CEO Mark Murphy’s public remark that Rodgers is a “complicated fella.”
Quick background: Last week, Jones said the situation is “fixable.” Now, Jones agrees that it’s “complicated.”
“I have a very good relationship with Mark Murphy,” Jones said. “Mark Murphy has a very good relationship with all of his players. . . . If you have a relationship with Aaron Rodgers, no, he’s not a complicated fella. And that’s with anything. You are talking about the future of a Hall of Fame quarterback’s career. Yeah, it’s gonna be complicated. He wants some things, you want some things. So it’s gonna be complicated. But listening to Mark Murphy talk, I am not reading into it too much. I’m pumping my brakes . . . I am relaxing. Don’t read too much into it. I know Mark personally, Mark loves all his players. And, yes, this situation is complicated because you’re dealing with a guy who wants certain things, you’re dealing with an organization who wants some things and you’re trying to come together as one to get this thing fixed. So it’s gonna be a little complicated. . . . So when you do have a relationship with him . . . no, it is not complicated. So get together, get a relationship with Aaron Rodgers like I have one, and get together and get it fixed.”
Lurking in the various inconsistencies from Jones is an important piece of logic. It’s not complicated with Rodgers when you have a good relationship with him. If it’s complicated, then you must not have a good relationship with him. Thus, if Murphy views Rodgers as “complicated,” Murphy and Rodgers do not have a good relationship.
That’s hardly breaking news. Of course the relationship is fractured. Jones, frankly, could end up being a viable go-between in this one, if his relationship with Murphy is as good as Jones claims it is and if his relationship with Rodgers is as good as Jones claims it is.
Actually, that could be the goal here by Rodgers, to get the Packers to reach out to Jones in an effort to broker peace. Jones has been saying it’s fixable. Jones provides a path to making things not complicated. And if things can become not complicated, then they can be fixed.
Bottom line? If Murphy truly wants to fix it (and frankly I don’t think he does), he just needs to call Jones and get him to be the one to rebuild the currently burned-out bridge between Murphy and Rodgers. That may be exactly what Rodgers is hoping to accomplish based on his relationship with a former teammate with a media platform.