Aaron Rodgers never returned multiple phone messages left by Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst this offseason. Instead, Gutekunst communicated with Rodgers’ agent, David Dunn, as the relationship between the team and the quarterback dissolved.
In his introductory news conference with the Jets, Rodgers wisecracked when asked about not responding to Gutekunst.
“People who know me, I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful house,” Rodgers said. “The only downside is I have very limited cell service. If you want to get ahold of me, I need to see your face. You have to FaceTime me. So, the only response to the communication thing is, there’s records in your phone about who called you, when, FaceTime, and there wasn’t any specific FaceTimes from any of those numbers that I was looking at. That’s neither here nor there because now we’re in this position.
“Obviously, that’s the direction they wanted to go as far as the story they couldn’t get ahold of me, which led for this to be the case. My point was, if there was a change that wanted to be made, why wasn’t that told to me early in the offseason? Now, obviously, my future was undecided at that time. I didn’t know if I wanted to keep playing. I wanted to go into my darkness retreat and sit with it and contemplate. But when I came out, it was evident that it was retire or move on to a new team.”
Rodgers is Rodgers, and he obviously was done with the organization that drafted him after last season. He said on March 15 that it was his “intention” to play for the Jets.
Gutekunst revealed at the owners’ meetings last month that he had not been able to reach Rodgers, and he said earlier this week that Rodgers had never returned his messages.
“Again, it would’ve been nice to have those conversations, but at the same time, over the last few years, I kind of understood that they may not happen. So it’s different,” Gutekunst said before praising Rodgers for what he’s meant to the organization.
Rodgers, whose 18 seasons in Green Bay is a franchise record, threw a team-record 475 career passing touchdowns. He won a Super Bowl and earned four MVP awards.
