He’d never agree with this characterization, in part because Aaron Rodgers likely would never agree with anything I’d ever have to say. But with the NFL’s annual free-agency negotiating window open, this is not a subject for fair debate.
Rodgers officially is holding the Packers and Jets hostage.
He’s doing so because both teams won’t know what they can or can’t commit to potential free agents without knowing whether he will or won’t be on their rosters. And they’ll inevitably miss out on players they could have signed.
The Packers, who have their next starter ready to go, need to know what’s happening with Rodgers’s contract, from a cap standpoint. The Jets need to know which veteran quarterback they’ll be acquiring.
With each passing second, the Jets could lose out on players like Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield. At some point, it’s fair to wonder whether the Jets force the issue, treating Rodgers’s failure to say “yes” or “no” as a firm “no.”
Rodgers may think his deadline is Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Or maybe he thinks he can take as long as he wants. Maybe he’s playing a passive-aggressive game with the Packers, in retribution for a bunch of things — including most recently the public remarks from CEO Mark Murphy making it clear that they want him to go.
Rodgers is the currently center of the NFL’s universe. He’ll stay there for as long as it takes for Rodgers to make his plans known.