Aaron Rodgers’ agent asked to trade Packers QB or Fire GM in 2021: Source

Aaron Rodgers’ agent has asked Packers president Mark Murphy to replace Fire quarterback or general manager Brian Gutkunst early in the 2021 season, according to a source associated with the team. the athlete. Here’s what you need to know:

• Murphy did neither. Months later, in April, word got out that Rodgers wanted out of Green Bay, but the Packers held firm.
• Rodgers stayed away from the team until days before training camp in August – after which, among other things, he extended Gutkunst an olive branch by trading with Randall Cobb, Rodgers’ best friend and former longtime teammate.
• After camp’s first practice, Rodgers voiced his complaints, saying he wanted to see changes in the organization’s communications and culture. According to Rodgers, communication between him and Gutkunst improved somewhat.
• When asked about the request, Rodgers told his agent, Dave Dunn, who did not respond the athleteComment request.

background story

The Packers’ surprise selection of Utah State draft pick Jordan Love with the 26th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft has raised questions about Rodgers’ future. The future Hall of Famer had four years remaining on his contract.

In 2020, Rodgers completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 4,299 yards and a career-best 48 touchdowns against just five interceptions. He was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the first time since 2014, but the Packers narrowly lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Stadium, leaving Green Bay one game short of the Super Bowl for the second straight season.

Rodgers’ comments in his Zoom press conference after that loss were ominous. “Much of the future of men,” he said then, “is uncertain.” “Me among them.”

In the 2021 regular season, Rodgers was perfect again. He won his second consecutive MVP award and led the Packers to the top seed in the NFC, but the Packers fell to the 49ers in the Divisional Round at Lambeau Field. In post-game comments, Rodgers was again non-committal about his future.

Most recently in the most recent season, Gutkunst said he intends for Rodgers to play at least the 2022 and 2023 seasons in Green Bay. Last July, Rodgers said he wanted to retire with the only team he’d ever played for.

In March 2022, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension to keep him at Green Bay.

But the 2022 season has been unpleasant for the Packers for multiple reasons. Among them, Rodgers played through a broken thumb he suffered in Week 5. And for the second season in a row, he considered for several months whether he wanted to continue playing in the NFL or retire.

He eventually decided to return for his 19th season and reached an agreement with the Packers that he would be for another team. Last month, the Packers shipped Rodgers, 39, to the New York Jets for a multiple draft pick.

For more on Rodgers’ final years at Green Bay and the team’s plan for succession – including this infamous FaceTime affair – read Matt Schneidman’s full story.

(Photo: Jeff Hansch/USA Today)