Aaron Rodgers has been one of the hot topics of the NFL offseason. He will be with the Green Bay Packers this season and likely the next, but there is a lot of speculation about his future. It started after the Packers lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game and has continued for the last few months as Packers president Mark Murphy won’t answer questions about Rodgers’ contract.
Here’s what to know about Rodgers’ pending free agency. The three-time NFL MVP is under contract for the next three seasons. The Packers plan to have Rodgers on the roster for the foreseeable future, but the team selected Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, meaning he will be the next starting quarterback. This means Rodgers could be leaving the Packers before or after the 2023 season.
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Before the NFC Championship game, Rodgers talked about his future with the team. “I’m always just trying to stay present, especially this year as much as anything, and enjoy the moments,” Rodgers said, as reported by ESPN. “I hope there’s more opportunities, but I don’t know. I mean, I really don’t. That stuff is out of my control. My future is a beautiful mystery, I think.” Rodgers talked more about his future after the Packers lost to the Buccaneers.
“A lot of guys’ futures that are uncertain, myself included,” Rodgers said. “That’s what’s sad about it most. Getting this far. Obviously, there’s going to be an end to it at some point, whether we make it past this one or not. Just the uncertainties is tough and the finality of it.”
There have been reports of Rodgers wanting a new contract, and many have speculated his current deal could be restructured so the Packers can free up salary cap space. When Rob Demovsky of ESPN attempted to ask Murphy after Rodgers’ contract, the Packers president, who also acted as the team owner, didn’t answer.
“I can’t really get into specific players,” Murphy said this week. “We’ve been able to create a room with others.” Despite not giving the media anything on Rodgers, Murphy previously assured everyone that he would be under center for Green Bay in 2021. On the Green Bay station WNFL, Murphy said: “There’s no way in heck Aaron is not going to be on the Packers … we’re not idiots.”
