If the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are going to go their separate ways, the Packers don’t want to be blamed for the split. Their official position, to no surprise, is that they want Rodgers back.
“We are significantly over the salary cap for next year, and will have to make many difficult decisions in order to get under the cap,” CEO Mark Murphy said in his periodic column at Packers.com. “A key factor will be whether Aaron Rodgers comes back for the 2022 season. [Coach] Matt [LaFleur], [G.M.] Brian [Gutekunst], executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back. He is likely to win his fourth league MVP, is the unquestioned leader of our team and is still playing at a high level at 38.”
The juxtaposition of Murphy’s concerns regarding the cap with his desire to see Rodgers return is likely no mistake. Rodgers has said he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding effort. If the cap situation makes it feel that way to Rodgers, he’s more likely to not return.
The safer bet already is that he’ll ask to be traded. The thinking is that, last year, the team agreed to trade him after the 2021 season, if that’s what he wants. It’s believed that he will indeed reiterate that request, sooner than later.
But at least the Packers can say they wanted him, even if the Packers will bear plenty of the blame for his exit, if that’s what happens.
