Brian Gutekunst discusses his current relationship with Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has been the subject of much controversy in the off-season. Aaron Rodgers had made it crystal clear to Packers management and his teammates that he did not like Gutekunst.

Tensions seemed to have cooled lately between the two, as Gutekunst recently told NFL.com the communication between he, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers have been great.

“I’ve had really good conversations throughout camp with Aaron and Matt, and I think the communication has been really, really good,” Gutekunst told the media via NFL.com. “As we went into this kind of decision-making period, I think everybody — all the people that are kind of involved in that — were very aware of what was going on and why we were doing what we were doing. So, I feel really good about that. And the conversations that I’ve had with Aaron have been excellent.”

Rodgers and the release of Jake Kumerow: The final straw

One of the decisions that the Packers front office made in the off-season that upset Rodgers was the release of his friend, current Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jake Kumerow. Green Bay beat writers have called this the “final straw” of damaging the relationship between the front office and Rodgers.

Kumerow was recently turning heads in Buffalo Bills camp and made the 53-man roster.

Rodgers had this to say about Kumerow last September: “Jake Kumerow has been such a solid performer for us the last couple of years. I love his reliability. I think he’s a fantastic, steady player who’s very heady on and off the field.”

The future Hall of Fame quarterback has wanted more input on roster decisions with the Packers for the past few years. His grumblings only grew louder this off-season.

Aaron Rodgers and the Randall Cobb concession

Gutekunst made a concession in early August in order to coax Rodgers out of “semi-retirement.” He traded for one of Rodgers’ friends and favorite receivers over the years, Randall Cobb.

This was an important move to end the summer standoff between Rodgers and the Packers’ front office, according to reports.

He was upset not having enough weapons

Another item that reportedly upset Rodgers was when the Packers front office drafted his future replacement, Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Rodgers did not like how Gutekunst was thinking more about the team’s future than his future Hall of Fame quarterback coming off a 13-3 season in 2019.

The Packers’ quarterback figured the team would draft another wide receiver opposite of Davante Adams, one of the league’s best players at his position. That, however, did not happen.

The good news for the Packers is all of the drama has finally calmed down and it’s time to finally play football.

Or has it? The Packers recently released yet another Aaron Rodgers’ favorite, Packers tight end Bronson Kaufusi recently.

They did sign Kaufusi to the practice squad. But this is just another sign that the drama between Rodgers and the Packers’ front office might not end any time soon.

Green Bay begins its campaign in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Stadium against the New Orleans Saints. The location of the game was originally in New Orleans, but was moved due to Hurricane Ida. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12. The game will be televised on FOX.