Twice in recent days, Packers G.M. Brian Gutekunst has made a comment about quarterback Aaron Rodgers that, given the players’ supersensitive nature, could potentially complicate ongoing efforts to lure him back to Green Bay. Last week, Gutekunst said he didn’t promise to trade Rodgers in 2022. This week, Gutekunst said he has received no trade calls for Rodgers.
On the surface, the latter claim makes sense. Unless and until Rodgers tells the Packers he wants out, there’s no reason for any interested teams to make a call.
That said, some teams may be searching sufficiently aggressively to make the call, even if Rodgers has yet to make the announcement. Indeed, Washington G.M. Martin Mayhew said Wednesday that they’ve called every team with a quarterback who may be available.
Surely, that includes the Packers. Especially after last year, when Washington admittedly missed the boat on Matthew Stafford, who became the subject of an inside-job trade from the Lions to the Rams. Any team looking to significantly upgrade at the position should be calling the Packers about Rodgers.
Regardless of whether calls are coming (and at least one call surely has come, from Washington), what’s gained by publicly saying no one has called? An executive with another team wondered aloud earlier today why Gutekunst keeps “poking” Rodgers.
Whether Gutekunst is doing it consciously, it’s happening. And when it comes to dealing with Rodgers, the situation can be as sensitive as defusing a time bomb. Recently, Gutekunst has been playing hopscotch in a minefield.
At a time when it seems as if Rodgers is warming to the idea of staying in Green Bay, comments like these could prevent the plane from landing. Whether it’s happening deliberately or not (and I’m not saying it is), all it takes is one remark to stick in Rodgers’s craw, and months of progress can evaporate faster than a thin puddle of tequila on a hot day.
