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The return of the NFL Draft made for an exciting night of television as always, but hours before the event featured quite a stir between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, which will certainly be the focus of the conversation following the opening round.
Thursday afternoon brought a bombshell report that the reigning MVP was so unhappy with the Packers that he wanted out of Green Bay. The afternoon brought a host of Twitter rumors and a full afternoon of speculating Rodgers’ future in Green Bay, including reports he wanted to play for the 49ers, Raiders, or Broncos and that a deal was nearly done with Denver.
A trade did not happen, and the 49ers ended up spending the No. 3 overall pick on a potential quarterback of the future in Trey Lance. Following the draft, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made it clear during his press conference that Rodgers will not be traded.
Asked Brian Gutekunst for the second time this offseason if there is "any scenario" he can envision trading Aaron Rodgers this offseason: "No. We're not going to trade Aaron Rodgers." Same answer he gave in February.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) April 30, 2021
Whether Rodgers and the Packers can get along and keep their relationship going into the upcoming season remains unclear, but it sure seems like Gutekunst is telling the truth in that there is not even a consideration of moving Rodgers to a new team. San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch admitted on Thursday that he reached out to the Packers regarding a potential trade for Rodgers, and Green Bay showed no interest.
49ers GM John Lynch said they did call Green Bay today about Aaron Rodgers. "Yeah, we inquired and it was a quick end to the conversation. It wasn’t happening."
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) April 30, 2021
Rodgers is likely still bothered by the Packers trading up to draft quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of last season’s draft in a move that still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Rodgers responded by earning another MVP award and leading Green Bay to the NFC Championship Game.
Rodgers has acknowledged in the past that he does not envision ending his career with the Packers as the organization will eventually want to give Love a shot to be the future of the franchise. After the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC title game, there wasn’t much reason to think Rodgers would not return, but the passing of the torch to Love could happen before expected.
If the Packers are set on not trading Rodgers under any circumstance and Rodgers is not willing to return to the team, this could get messy. It’s possible Rodgers never puts on a Packers uniform again and this story ends with him being the full-time host of Jeopardy!