Matt LaFleur has made it very clear about his feelings on the Aaron Rodgers situation. The Green Bay Packers coach spoke to the media on Friday and said he wants Rodgers with the team when the season kicks off this fall. This comes on a few weeks after a report was published about Rodgers telling people in the organization he’s not returning to the Packers because he was frustrated with management.
“I’ve got nothing new to update, and we still obviously feel the same way,” LaFleur said Friday during the team’s rookie minicamp per ESPN. “We want him back in the worst way. I know he knows that, and we’ll continue to work at it each and every day.” LaFleur says this after the Packers signed Blake Bortels to a one-year contract. However, the team would have likely signed him despite what’s going on with Rodgers. The Packers also brought in two additional veteran quarterbacks on a tryout basis – Kurt Benkert and Chad Kelly – for rookie minicamp.
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“Shoot, he led his team to the AFC Championship Game [in 2017], and I mean they were close to knocking off the Patriots in New England,” LaFleur said of Bortles. “He’s got a lot of experience, and that’s something that you can never take for granted.” LaFleur’s comment on Rodgers is similar to what he said two weeks ago when the ordeal was very new.
“I can’t fathom [him] not being in Green Bay,” LaFleur said. “That’s where my mind’s at. I don’t only love the player, but I love the person. I love working with him on a daily basis; I think we all do — from the players in that locker room to the coaching staff. Again, I don’t even want to let my mind go there.”
One reason Rodgers is frustrated is the current quarterback situation. Last year, the Packers traded up in the first round to select Jordan Love, which indicated he will likely be the quarterback of the future. Rodgers wasn’t told about the move to draft a quarterback, and along with that and other questionable moves by general manager Brian Gutekunst, Rodgers is very uncertain about his future in Green Bay. It’s unlikely the Packers will trade him, which means Rodgers could sit out the 2021 season if things get really bad.
