Report: Aaron Rodgers wanted Packers to fire GM Brian Gutekunst in 2021
Aaron Rodgers owns a fresh start with the New York Jets. But during a lengthy interview with The Athletic, he broke down how dysfunctional life had become with the Packers.
The sports site, quoting an unnamed source, said that Rodgers had his agent call Packers president Mark Murphy early in the 2021 offseason. This was sometime after the Packers lost to Tampa Bay in the NFC title game. David Dunn, Rodgers’ agent, said his quarterback had an either/or request. Fire general manager Brian Gutekunst. Or trade Aaron Rodgers. If you follow the Packers or are an avid NFL fan, you know the Packers didn’t give in to either demand.
When asked about the agent’s conversation, Rodgers gave a no comment and deferred to Dunn. However, the agent didn’t return a phone call asking for comment placed by The Athletic.
Aaron Rodgers did talk, at length, about what happened since the 2021 offseason. The Packers traded for his good friend, Randall Cobb. But a year later, Green Bay traded away Davante Adams after the receiver wanted to be the highest paid in the NFL at his position.
Of course, Rodgers still was seething at the Packers for selecting Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft. He said the pick surprised him and that he “poured (himself) a little glass of Añejo and waited for somebody to call me.”
Once the 2021 training camp started, Rodgers went public with his complaints about management. But management thought he’d eventually move past the issues. In March, 2022, Aaron Rodgers signed a contract extension that would pay him $150 million over three seasons. The Packers then traded Adams and selected a slew of receivers in the draft. With so many new faces, Rodgers declined to participate in OTAs.
Green Bay missed the playoffs and it took the Packers going on a late, five-game winning streak to even get themselves into the post-season conversation. Aaron Rodgers didn’t take much responsibility for the season. He did injure his thumb early in the season. But it took him awhile to show chemistry with the young wideouts.
“I feel good about the way I showed up for my guys every single week,” Rodgers told The Athletic. “And it’s convenient now to look at that, but it wasn’t a conversation when (Packers management) would thank me for my speeches after games or the way I fought, played and different things. You can rewrite history all you want, but like I said, I still got the receipts.”
This past off season, sides went through a painful divorce. Gutekunst said he tried calling Rodgers numerous times, but never heard back. Rodgers contended that when he’s living in his home in California, you have to Facetime him because cell service inside the house is iffy. Gutekunst was going to be in Los Angeles in January. The two could get together and talk. Gutekunst called and left a message. Rodgers returned it the next day. But there was no meeting.
“Did Brian text me more than I texted him? Yeah, but did I ghost him? No,” Aaron Rodgers said of their overall communication. “I texted him back. There was back-and-forths that we had and so this is the story you wanna go with? You’re gonna stand on this hill of austerity and say that arguably in the conversation of the best player in your franchise history, you’re gonna say I couldn’t get a hold of him and that’s why we had to move on?
“Like, c’mon man. Just tell the truth, you wanted to move on. You didn’t like the fact that we didn’t communicate all the time. Like, listen, I talk to the people that I like.”
The rest is recent history. Aaron Rodgers got his trade to the Jets. Meanwhile, the Packers now have Jordan Love as their quarterback.
“I like Jordan a lot,” Rodgers told The Athletic. “Jordan’s a good dude. It’s tough to be a backup behind a future Hall of Famer. You’ve got to kinda find that sweet spot. I thought he did a great job with that, but he’s a good-hearted kid. It’s undetermined, his future, but from the physical standpoint, I thought he improved his fundamentals this last year.”