The Green Bay Packers believe Aaron Rodgers may have been contacted by two NFL teams illegally. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers are upset that teams may have tampered with Rodgers to gauge his interest in playing for them, specifically, the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. Rodgers doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.
The Packers reportedly haven’t filed chargers to the NFL since it will be difficult to prove. However, 49ers general manager John Lynch did admit to contacting the Packers to see if they were interested in trading Rodgers, which was turned down quickly.
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“You’re talking about the MVP of our league last year,” Lynch said. “I don’t know about you guys but when the MVP of the league might be available — and I didn’t know that, I’m just reading the tea leaves like everybody else and saying, ‘Hold on is something going on here?’ Yeah, we inquired. And it was a quick end to the conversation. It wasn’t happening.”
Rodgers reportedly wants out in Green Bay because he’s reportedly frustrated with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. The one move that got the wheels in motion was when the Packers traded up in the first round to select Jordan Love last year. At that moment, Rodgers knew his time in Green Bay was running out, but what bothered him was the team didn’t tell him about the move.
“We’ve been working through this for a little while now, and I just think it may take some time,” Gutekunst said, after the first round of this year’s draft. “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.” And when talking about last year’s draft, Gutekunst said: “I certainly look back to last year’s draft and just kind of maybe some of the communication issues we could have done better. There’s no doubt about it. The draft’s an interesting thing. It can kind of unfold differently than you think it’s going to unfold, and it happens pretty fast. But certainly, I think, looking back on it sitting where we sit today there could have been some communication things we did better.”
Rodgers, who has three more years left on his contract, played one of his best seasons in 2020, throwing for 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His play helped the Packers reach the NFC Championship for the second consecutive season, and he won his third MVP award.
