As usual, there’s two sides to every story.
Regarding the inevitable divorce between the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, we had previously heard one side. Today, we heard some of the other side.
Via Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com, G.M. Brian Gutekunst told reporters at the league meeting in Arizona that the team tried to contact Aaron Rodgers “many times” during the offseason to discuss how he fits in the team’s future.
Rodgers, according to Gutekunst, never responded.
“Our inability to reach him or for him to respond in any way,” Gutekunst said. “I think at that point we just kind of had to -- I had to do my job and reach out and understanding that a trade could be possible.”
That’s a very different story than the one Rodgers told to Pat McAfee 12 days ago. Rodgers said that, when the 2022 season ended, the Packers told the four-time MVP that they wanted him back. Rodgers said that, at some point after the season ended, he learned that the Packers were shopping him. (Rodgers later contradicted this story by saying that he sensed during the 2022 season that the Packers wanted to move on.)
Under Green Bay’s version, the team repeatedly tried to engage Rodgers in a conversation about the future -- “many times” -- and that he ignored their overtures.
The good news, I suppose, is that he didn’t text back something like this: “Lose my number. Good try tho.”
The end result is the relationship has been permanently fractured. Both sides seem to accept the outcome, even if the Packers regret the path Rodgers chose to take.
“Certainly whenever a player may have issues, you prefer that they talk to you directly and not do it in the media, but that’s not necessarily the way he goes about it and that’s OK,” Gutekunst told reporters.
Yes, it’s over. The sooner the Packers and Jets finalize a trade, the better off everyone will be.