Aaron Rodgers might still have soft spot for the Green Bay Packers organization but that doesn’t mean he isn’t sour on how things ended, specifically with the team’s general manager Brian Butekunst.
In an interview with Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Rodgers blames his former general manager for failing to both communicate properly and win his personal approval. Schneidman also reports that Rodgers’ agent, David Dunn, apparently asked the Packers to fire Gutekunst after the team spent a first-round pick on Jordan Love in 2021.
According to a source associated with the team who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the sensitive dynamics between the front office and the star quarterback, early in the 2021 offseason, Dunn, Rodgers’ agent, called Packers president Mark Murphy with a request: Fire Gutekunst or trade Rodgers. Murphy did neither. Months later, news broke that Rodgers wanted out of Green Bay, but the Packers held firm.
When asked about the demand last week, Rodgers deferred to Dunn, who did not reply to The Athletic’s request for comment.
Rodgers’ issue with Green Bay didn’t end there. He added that he believes Green Bay’s initial contract offer to start wide receiver Davante Adams ahead of 2022 free agency drove the All-Pro to request a trade. Rodgers went on to say he was “upset” by the fact Gutekunst told reporters this March that he unsuccessfully tried to contact Rodgers “many times” while gauging the QB’s future.
The QB and GM had agreed to meet in person while Gutekunst was traveling in Southern California for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in late January, per Schneidman, but the two never connected, with Rodgers alleging that he responded to “morning” texts from Gutekunst “(that) night or the next morning or the next day.”
“Did Brian text me more than I texted him?” Rodgers said. “Yeah, but did I ghost him? No. I texted him back. There was back-and-forths that we had and so this is the story you wanna go with? You’re gonna stand on this hill of austerity and say that arguably in the conversation of the best player in your franchise history, you’re gonna say I couldn’t get a hold of him and that’s why we had to move on? Like, c’mon man. Just tell the truth, you wanted to move on. You didn’t like the fact that we didn’t communicate all the time. Like, listen, I talk to the people that I like.”
After learning that the Packers had been gauging interest in Rodgers around the league, the QB told his agent, to tell the Packers and Gutekunst that he wanted to be traded to the New York Jets.
Months later, the deal was done and Rodgers is now the starting quarterback for Gang Green.
