Aaron Rodgers spoke at Green Bay Packers training camp on Wednesday. He exposed the front office’s interactions with him and past players who were important to the team’s success. Everyone knows how Brian Gutekunst runs the show now and it has to change.
Aaron Rodgers Unfiltered
If you weren’t able to watch the Rodgers press conference on Wednesday, go watch it on YouTube because he laid it all out there about why he’s unhappy with the Packers organization. Rodgers may have looked selfish when he said people want to come play in Green Bay because of him. However, and more importantly, he undressed the Packers front office.
About 11 minutes and 30 seconds into his comments, Rodgers discussed how he hasn’t been given the respect he deserves. “The organization looks at me and my job as just to play and in my opinion based on what I’ve accomplished in this league, the way I care about my teammates, the way I show up in the locker room, the way I lead, the way I conduct myself in the community, it should tie myself to a little bit more input,” Rodgers continued.
“The rules, you know, are the same for most people but every now and then there are some outliers. You know, guys who have been in an organization for 17 years and won a few MVPs, where they can be in conversations in a different higher level. I’m not asking for anything that other great quarterbacks across the last few decades have not gotten. The opportunity to just be in [the] conversation.”
Then, Rodgers gave an example of how being part of a conversation may have benefitted the team. “You’re gonna cut a guy who based on meritocracy was our second-best receiver in training camp [Jake Kumerow] last year for the majority of camp, maybe run it by me. See what I feel, I might be able to change your mind. But at least being a part of the conversation makes you feel like you’re important, you’re respected and that’s what I tried to convey in February but that’s just the way they do it.”
Still No Say?
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky asked Rodgers if he’ll have say on roster moves this season and he couldn’t confirm that. “I’m not sure, Rob, at this point. I can only say one of the things was to be involved in free agency. I just want to make myself available to have those conversations to be maybe something that tips it over the edge if you’re trying to sign a specific guy,” Rodgers said. So the Packers have made concessions to Rodgers so he would come back and play, but are still not guaranteeing Rodgers some say in potential Packers additions? That isn’t going to make Rodgers want to stay past this season.
Where are the Lies?
Rodgers’ comments were a true description of how he felt about how Green Bay operated and (apparently) still operates. Other quarterbacks in the league have input on how the front office constructs the team. In Tampa Bay, Tom Brady brought in almost an entirely new offense last season, including Rob Gronkowski, LeSean McCoy, and Antonio Brown. Rodgers then internally asked himself why Brady got that much input into an organization in his first season with the team while he’s been the quarterback for 13 years in Green Bay but the front office hasn’t even consulted Rodgers on potential roster moves.
Other Players are Paying Attention
Rodgers’ comments aren’t just embarrassing for Gutekunst and president Mark Murphy but it hurts them in the future. If there’s proof of veterans who deserved better treatment by the organization, such as Charles Woodson and Jordy Nelson, then why would free agents want to sign with the Packers?
The front office could tell free agents they’d have a chance of getting to the Super Bowl with Rodgers. But, there are better run organizations such as the Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs where they’d also could win with great quarterbacks. If the front office doesn’t start respecting their veterans more, they can’t expect to have success in the free-agent market when players know they aren’t going to be as respected as they’d be in other organizations.
The bottom line is simple. There’s no hiding who the Packers front office is. They have to respect players more if they want to keep their veterans and/or bring in new ones.
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