In Aaron Rodgers’s first public press conference at Packers training camp, speaking one day after he reportedly agreed to restructure his deal with Green Bay, Rodgers was polite but unflinching.
The quarterback made it clear in his 30-minute appearance that while he wants to play for the Packers this season, he has unresolved issues with the organization. The relationship, it appears, will continue for the 2021 season. After that, all bets are off.
“I really don’t know,” Rodgers said about his future after the season. “Things in that direction haven’t really changed at all. …There’s gonna be a lot of tough decisions at the end of the year. I’m just gonna enjoy this year.”
“The organization looks at me and my job as just to play,” Rodgers said, adding that he believes he should have “a little more input.”
“I’m not a victim here,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “I made a ton of money here, and I’ve been really fortunate to play a long time and to play here. At the same time I’m still competitive and I still feel like I can play, I proved it last year.”
Rodgers said his frustrations with the team—specifically the personnel department and general manager Brian Gutekunst—stemmed largely from a conversation last February after the 2020 season ended in which Rodgers expressed a “desire to be more involved in conversations directly affecting my job.”
Rodgers said he was not included in subsequent conversations about personnel decisions during free agency in March or ahead of the draft in April.
“Green Bay isn’t a huge vacation destination, people are coming here to play with me, to play with our team, and knowing that they can win a championship here,” Rodgers said. “The fact that I haven’t been used in those discussions is one I wanted to change moving forward. I thought based on my years and the way I can still play that that should be a natural part of the conversation.”
Asked if he thought about hanging up his cleats this offseason, Rodgers said … yes. “Yeah, it was definitely something I thought about,” he admitted.
Rodgers has not hidden his dissatisfaction for the Packers’ front office in recent months, and on Wednesday, he admitted he became frustrated with their unwillingness to commit to him long-term as their starting quarterback.
“If you can’t commit to me past 2021, and I’m not part of the recruiting process in free agency, if I’m not part of the future, then instead of being a lame-duck quarterback, then let me move forward,” Rodgers said, as noted by ESPN.
“There’s still a big competitive hole in my body that I need to fill,” Rodgers told reporters. “And as I got back into my workouts I just realized that I know I can still play and I want to still play, and as long as feel I can give 100 percent to the team, then I should still play.”
“I love my teammates,” he said. “I love the city, love my coaches. It is a lot of fun to be back here.”
