All NFL off-season and from every possible angle, from social media pundits to TV and radio sports reports, you could hear the cacophony as it swirled around the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Great drama about how the reigning NFL MVP would not be returning to the Packers.
But was it real? Was there ever any drama?
It seems every year, the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers are a target for gossip. In 2019, when the Packers named Matt Lafleur their new head coach, the rumor was that he and Aaron Rodgers could never get along. Turns out, they get along well, are friends and enjoy spending time with each other. Last season the rumor was that Lafleur and Rodgers butted heads about making changes to the playbook. The reality? Rodgers and the Packers Offensive staff used Zoom calls to pair down the offense. And Rodgers loved the changes which helped the Pack get to their second straight NFC Championship Game. This year…oh, the DRAMA!
The “drama” started with a tweet from a famous NFL pundit insisting that Aaron Rodgers was so unhappy with the Packers that he would never again play for Green Bay. This set off a firestorm on social media with other “experts” weighing in about how and why the two sides were so at odds, and how this situation had become so dire. By the time the rumor made its way to TV and radio sports talk, the talking heads churned out nearly non-stop reports about why it was a certainty Rodgers would be gone from Green Bay, about why he detested the Packers organization and GM Brian Gutekunst, and even where Rodgers would play in 2021.
The rumors seemed to grow by orders of magnitude when Rodgers didn’t show up to mini-camp. It didn’t matter that most veteran NFL QBs and many league veterans don’t attend mini-camps – this was supposed “proof” of Rodger’s hatred for all things Green Bay.
Meanwhile, in reality, some who watched this “drama” unfold waited for only one thing, to hear from either Rodgers or Gutekunst. But Rodgers was silent. And, like the silence of a dog who does not bark, there seemed a different possibility than Aaron splitting from the Pack. Could this silence be part of what a present-day negotiation looks like?
So what did Rodgers actually say that were not rumors? Aaron had previously indicated often that he wanted to play in Green Bay for the entirety of his career.
What did Gutekunst say? Gutey said that Rodgers was “under contract…” and that the Packers would “not trade,” Rodgers.
These statements from the two sides seemed not like the “drama” of a Rodgers return to Green Bay but that Rodgers would in fact be back in Green Bay for the 2021 season and that the two sides were…negotiating.
Then, when training camp started Rodgers was back as a Packer. And, in his first press conference of camp said, “I just expressed my desire to be involved in conversations directly affecting my job.” Aaron next indicated, time and time again, that he was happy to be back, excited about the 2021 season and glad to have his friend and former teammate, Randall Cobb, back as a Wide Receiver.
In summary, none of the rumors had come true. Simply, there was NO DRAMA.
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