Aaron Rodgers may or may not be with the Green Bay Packers this upcoming season, but we now know about one move he could have made. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Rodgers will not opt-out of the 2021 season as he was not on the opt-out list on Monday’s transactions. It was reported late last week that Rodgers wouldn’t opt-out, but it seems like now it’s official since the opt-out deadline was on Friday.
If Rodgers decided to opt-out due to COVID-19, he would not play for the Packers or any team. However, the three-time MVP would not have to forfeit his signing bonus or roster bonus he’s set to make this year. Opting-out was likely not a real option for Rodgers, but it’s not clear he will be with the Packers this fall as he has given no indication he will be at training camp at the end of this month.
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When Rodgers talked about the problems he has with the Packers on SportsCenter, he explained it started well before the report on it came out in April. “A lot of this was put in motion last year, and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year,” Rodgers said. “This is just kind of, I think, a spill-out of all that. But it is about the people, and that’s the most important thing. Green Bay has always been about the people — from Curly Lambeau being owner and founder to the ’60s with [Vince] Lombardi and Bart Starr and all those incredible names to the ’90s teams with coach [Mike] Holmgren and Favrey [Brett Favre] and the Minister of Defense [Reggie White] to the run that we’ve been on.”
The Packers have met with Rodgers multiple times during the offseason to see if things can be worked out. “We’ve been working through this for a little while now, and I just think it may take some time,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in April. “But he’s a guy that kind of makes this thing go. He gives us the best chance to win, and we’re going to work towards that end.”
If Rodgers is with the Packers this season, the team will be a Super Bowl favorite. In the last two seasons, Green Bay won 26 regular-season games and have reached the NFC Championship game twice. Rodgers won the MVP award earlier this year after throwing for 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2020.
