Packers' Brian Gutekunst Was Unable to Reach Aaron Rodgers Despite 'Many' Attempts
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVMarch 27, 2023
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Monday that he tried to contact Aaron Rodgers this offseason but hasn't had any success in that regard.
Matt Schneidman @mattschneidmanBrian Gutekunst said he tried to contact Aaron Rodgers "many times" this offseason to discuss how he fit in the Packers' future.<br><br>"Our inability to reach him or for him to respond in any way — I think at that point … I had to do my job."<br><br>Full comments: <a href="https://t.co/K8aGGdVhOn">pic.twitter.com/K8aGGdVhOn</a>
"I think I was really looking forward to the conversations with Aaron to see how he fit into [the team going forward]," he noted. "Those never transpired. There came a time when we had to make some decisions. So we went through his representatives to kind of talk about where we were going with our team, and at that point, they informed us he would like to be traded to the Jets."
At this point, the only thing keeping Rodgers out of a Jets uniform is the trade compensation, with New York and Green Bay yet to settle on a deal. But all sides involved have seemingly expressed a desire to work out a trade—or at least acknowledged that such talks have occurred.
Gutekunst also gave limited insight into what Green Bay was looking for in a trade on Monday, saying the team didn't necessarily need to receive a first-round pick in return:
Tom Pelissero @TomPelissero<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Packers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Packers</a> GM Brian Gutekunst just met with a small group of media here in Phoenix. <br><br>- No timeline on trading Aaron Rodgers, hoping soon <br>- Doesn't necessarily need a first-round pick<br>- Any chance Rodgers plays for GB again? Not trending that way but "all options are on the table"
Rodgers has publicly said he wanted to join the Jets.
"I made it clear my intention was to play and to play for the New York Jets, and I haven't been holding anything up," Rodgers said earlier in March on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Rich Cimini and Rob Demovsky of ESPN). "It's the compensation that the Packers are trying to get. ... The Packers want to move on and have let me know that in so many words."
Jets head coach Robert Saleh has expressed excitement about potentially coaching Rodgers.
"Two years ago when we first got there, just thinking about where we were and how far we've come. To have a guy like him want to play for us is pretty cool and shows how far we've come," he told the NFL Network's Judy Battista on Sunday. "But we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do."
For Rodgers, it appears New York is the future and Green Bay is the past. Once Gutekunst couldn't get Rodgers on the phone, the message from his end appeared to be pretty clear: He just wasn't that into the Packers anymore.