Is Packers' inefficient management to be blamed for Aaron Rodgers rumored exit?
The Green Bay Packers were sitting pretty after the 2019 season. The team went 13-3 and advanced all the way to the NFC Championship Game in Matt LaFleur's first year as the head coach.
Aaron Rodgers was playing on a lucrative contract extension and the plan was to run it back in 2020.
Then came arguably the most controversial decision of the year when the team selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. This was a team that nearly made the Super Bowl with a legendary quarterback in Aaron Rodgers leading the way.
That first-round pick could have been used on just about any other position to help the team. Instead, the Packers were enamored with Love and wanted a succession plan in place.
Fans know the rest of the story by now. Rodgers was infuriated and proceeded to win back-to-back NFL MVP awards. Packers management is now trying to mend the issue and keep the legend around.
But is it too late?
Packers front office potentially ruined a great thing with Aaron Rodgers
No one knows what the quarterback wants to do right now. The only update from ESPN's Dianna Russini is that Rodgers is not going to wait much longer to make his plans known.
Aaron Rodgers will be informing the Packers of his decision soon, per league sources. I’m told there are multiple teams with offers on the table but of course, nothing can happen until the Green Bay Packers allow a trade.
So fans are left waiting without knowing what his final decision will be. The options are to remain with Green Bay, demanding a trade, or retire.
The idea of him demanding a trade in 2022 would sound insane to fans before the start of the 2020 draft. Rodgers has not slowed down a bit and just got done winning 13 games under a new coach with fresh ideas in Matt LaFleur.
The front office drafting Love did not make much sense because it was not a situation where they ended up with a top pick in the draft and could not pass up on a generational prospect.
Love was taken with the No. 26 overall pick. He was the fourth quarterback off the board and was not seen as the most elite option in the group, led by Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
Brian Gutekunst also told the media yesterday he never agreed to trade Rodgers as part of their contract restructure last summer. twitter.com/diannaespn/sta…
But someone in Green Bay convinced others that Love was the second coming of Rodgers. So far, it appears the group has realized their mistake in thinking that was the case.
If Rodgers does leave, the blame from fans will go towards the front office. This entire saga was created out of thin air by not drafting talent to help their legendary quarterback succeed.
So, two years later, have they changed their minds?
Fans have a right to be angry and confused if the quarterback leaves town. While it may not be as ugly as former Packers quarterback Brett Favre's exit, the quarterback in waiting does not inspire as much confidence as Rodgers once did.
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