Packers making all the right moves to hold on to Aaron Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers are waiting on Aaron Rodgers to make a potentially franchise-altering decision. He can either stay, demand a trade, or retire. Obviously, the team is hoping he wants to stay and and chase another Super Bowl.
This would mark a dramatic reconciliation after the team angered him in the first place by using a first-round pick on fellow quarterback Jordan Love in 2020.
One way to make him happy is to sign him to an extension that makes him the highest-paid player in the league. The Packers have been restructuring contracts over the past week, seemingly to clear space to give Rodgers what he wants. Freeing up over $11 million of David Bakhtiari's money was a clear sign of a big move to come.
Another one: the Packers have converted $11.58M of LT David Bakhtiari's 2022 compensation into a signing bonus, creating significant cap space for this season, per source.
A busy week for the Packers' cap continues.
This came after the front office made several other moves of the same nature earlier in the week.
The Packers have created $3.08M in 2022 cap space by converting $3.85M of RB Aaron Jones' 2022 compensation into a signing bonus and adding two void years, per source.
Green Bay has now created nearly $14M in cap space over the past two days, with more moves ahead.
Fans must remember the team still needs to clear space in general to get under the cap. Yet it still only helps their cause to do this if the plan is to keep and pay their star quarterback.
Packers keep making all the right moves to make Aaron Rodgers happy
The Green Bay front office put itself at a disadvantage in this situation by drafting Love. Rodgers winning back-to-back NFL MVP awards made it clear they needed to hold onto him, no matter what.
One initial step towards that goal was opening a dialogue with the quarterback. GM Brian Gutekunst reportedly did that all the way back in the summer.
Just finished a beat writer's session with Packers GM Brian Gutekunst.
Among the highlights ...
*He and Rodgers agreed last summer to "sit down and work it out one way or another" this offseason but never promised a trade.
*The franchise tag is a last resort for Davante Adams
So Gutekunst and his quarterback, for that matter, at least, realized they had to come together at some point and figure out a plan for the future. Opening a conversation months ago was a wise move, and it helped to avoid a situation where neither side was talking at such a crucial point in franchise history.
Yet the team made one more move that was arguably the most notable of all. That was bringing back Tom Clements as the quarterbacks coach. He is 68 years old and had just announced his retirement from coaching a year ago. Would he come back to not work with Rodgers?
Clements was on the Green Bay staff from 2006-2016 and worked directly with Rodgers the entire time. Bringing him out of retirement shows a commitment to do whatever it takes to make the signal-caller happy and convince him leaving the team would be a mistake.
So we have cap space, positive talks, and a former coach returning. These are all as signs that the Packers will do anything to keep Rodgers in Wisconsin. The decision is ultimately up to him, but fans know the team has, at least, done the right things to make it happen. The only thing that may ruin it is if the living legend isn't over the selection of Love two years later.
Also Read: NFL Rumors: Chargers interested in Davante Adams if Packers let WR walk