The Aaron Rodgers trade rumors continue to heat up, as Green Bay Packers CEO suggested the only reason Rodgers wouldn’t be gone is “if things [didn’t] work out the way we want.”
Mark Murphy, who has helmed the NFC North team since 2007 as president and CEO, made the definitive statement during an interview with WBAY. Asked if there was a scenario that sees Rodgers return to the yellow and green, he said: “Yeah, I mean unless, if things don’t work out the way we want them, yeah, we would. He is obviously a great player.”
The entire situation is embarrassing for the Packers and the NFL. If the Packers were saddled with a huge contract for an underperforming player, shipping him out would be a no-brainer since they have Jordan Love waiting patiently on the bench.
But Rodgers isn’t underperforming; instead, he’s the twice-reigning MVP of the league and earned his last one this past season without favorite target Devante Adams.
What’s clear is that politics and lifestyle choices have made Rodgers persona non-grata. Where’s Colin Kaepernick now? Wasn’t he banned from the league for politics? This guy should be the first one in line defending Rodgers for his own viewpoints.
Things seemed to really sour when Rodgers declared he had been “immunized” in preparation for the 2021-22 NFL season. When he later announced he’d gotten sick and was prescribed non-narrative-conforming medication, the media really went ballistic. Since then, he has shown up to training camps sporting “Make Again” shirts and spoken candidly about his own personal discovery journeys, which includes consuming the hallucinogen ayahuasca.
With everything going on, people close to the matter are simply saying the team is “done with” the Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
“They are done with Rodgers,” former Packers beat writer Bob McGinn said last month. “He’s not coming back. I mean, they’re disgusted with him, and they’re done with him. And they’re moving on.”
Fox News reported that Murphy had indicated a willingness, some might say an eagerness, to trade Rodgers. He granted permission for the New York Jets to meet with the pocket passer and said he’d approve a trade request from him. Fox wrote:
Green Bay selected Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft as Rodgers’ replacement. Then, Rodgers won back-to-back MVPs. It was a good problem to have, but it definitely altered plans.
Murphy added the Packers will trade Rodgers if he requests one and confirmed they gave permission to the Jets to speak with the quarterback. Murphy also said there should be a resolution by the time free agency begins next week.
Murphy all but confirmed that a trade to New York is in the works.
“It’s a situation where I think we wanted to help Aaron achieve what he wanted, as well as the Packers,” Murphy said of a possible trade. “Hopefully, it’ll create a situation where it’s a win for both sides.”
Rodgers will turn 40 during the next NFL season and has played his entire career in Green Bay. He was drafted out of UC Berkley in 2005 and replaced Brett Favre in 2008, winning his first and only Super Bowl in 2011.
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