Free agency officially began on Wednesday afternoon, but the biggest news was made on a popular YouTube show hosted by a former punter. The following is a brief rundown of the latest happenings surrounding the Green Bay Packers:
đAARON RODGERS WILL BE A JET
In a monologue that would’ve made William Shakespeare proud, Aaron Rodgers told Pat McAfee that he’ll be joining the New York Jets as soon as trade details are worked out. The four-time MVP didn’t hide his dissatisfaction with GM Brian Gutekunst and president/CEO Mark Murphy, but for the most part, he spoke glowingly about his time in Green Bay. As I speculated in February, Rodgers’ preference was to stay with the team that drafted him in ’05, but it became clear months ago that the organization was ready to move on. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer also said he went into his recent darkness retreat 90 percent sure of retirement. That was the only part of the interview that didn’t ring true. To sum it up, one of the greatest eras in Packers football is over, and a new era with Jordan Love is set to begin shortly.
đJARRAN REED RETURNS TO SEATTLE
Jarran Reed parlayed a solid season in Green Bay into a two-year deal with the Seahawks worth $10.8 million. Losing the former Alabama star, who started all 17 games in 2022, leaves the Packers very thin on the defensive line. A couple of talented young players will be counted on to step up. Devonte Wyatt, the 28th overall pick in last April’s draft, had a very disappointing rookie season but did flash a handful of times in December and January. Slaton, a fifth-round pick in 2021, is a huge human being (6’4, 335) who moves surprisingly well and can be very difficult to move when his pads are low. With Reed gone, don’t be surprised if Gutekunst looks to re-sign unrestricted free agent Dean Lowry. The 28-year-old played too many snaps and made too much money the past handful of seasons, but he’d be a solid backup in 2023.
đHELP WANTED AT RECEIVER (AGAIN)
The Packers needed to acquire a veteran wide receiver a year ago, and Gutekunst signed Sammy Watkins, a declining and injury-prone player who hadnât caught more than 60 passes or gained more than 700 yards since Barack Obama was in the White House. Not surprisingly, he got hurt in Week 1 and was cut before Christmas. With Allen Lazard now in New York, the need at receiver is even greater this spring, but filling it wonât be easy. Not only does Green Bay lack cap room, but how many players with legitimate options are going to want to team up with Love, an entirely unproven quarterback? Itâs difficult to imagine, for example, Mecole Hardman choosing to catch passes for the Packers when he could get a similar deal elsewhere. Simply put, Gutekunst has his work cut out for him, and he needs to come through this time.
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I get why Rodgers doesn’t like Murphy and Gutekunst, but he should always appreciate the fact that they were dumb enough to give $110 million in guaranteed money to a 38-year-old QB.
You have a once in a lifetime type player who represented the packers well, made the people in the organization a ton of money and the last 3-4 years of his career you canât have an honest and open discussion where he fits or doesnât fit in the future with the team ? Sure itâs been time to move on but itâs been handled poorly. Murphy and Gutekunst are garbage.
To be fair, we’ve only heard from one side. Murphy and Gutekunst probably see things differently, although after listening to them speak over the past few years, I tend to believe Rodgers.
What I found so amusing about what Rodgers was saying is that it was just all so clear that Rodgers, a west coaster, has been struggling with Gutey, who sounds so very midwestern. As an east coaster who’s been in the midwest awhile, it cound’t have been much clearer to me that the communication cultural difference was huge.
As upset as I was about Gutey drafting Love, I think Gutey has a real chance to redeem himself. Obviously we’ve got to wait and see on what Love does. But watching, for one, the Bucs fall so quickly – Baker Mayfield, in all likelihood, being their starter come wk 1 – does make me appreciate how this has played out. There are so many teams right now whose fanbase knows right now that they’re simply not going to be very good for a while because they don’t have the right QB. While we know GB won’t be great this year, possibilities are far more exciting.
As for the WR issue: this is a bridge year and as such I feel totally fine with them going into the season with the wr corps they have, as long as they get another one in the first two rounds of the draft. Imagine if they get one in….round one. I won’t be shocked.
Just wanted to thank my friend who told me about two weeks ago that Rodgers would be leaving the Packers. He doesn’t give me a lot of inside info, but when he does, it’s always accurate.
I agree that retirement wasnât a real possibility but was used more as a defense mechanism to ward off any potential trade interest once Rodgers got the feeling he was no longer wanted. Since Rodgers has accepted the outcome in this debacle , todays show was being partly used to gain media and fan support for a much lower asset return from the the JetsâŚ..Packers are being unreasonable in what they want in return for a man who they donât want and may only play 1 season type of scenario. My gut tells me the Jets may be the ones that are trying to pull a quick one with our ex- packer friend.