Packers Sign Another Quarterback Amid Aaron Rodgers Drama
As the Green Bay Packers continue to get on the same page with Aaron Rodgers, they are adding [...]
As the Green Bay Packers continue to get on the same page with Aaron Rodgers, they are adding quarterbacks to the roster. On Monday, the team announced they have signed Kurt Benkert to add depth to the position. This comes days after the team signed Blake Bortles, and now Green Bay has four quarterbacks under contract.
Benkert started his NFL career as an undrafted free agent for the Atlanta Falcons. He spent the 2018 and 2020 seasons on the Falcons' practice squad and was on injured reserve in 2019 after suffering an injury to his toe. Benkert and Bortles were brought in for the Packers' rookie minicamp before signing with the team. At that time, the Packers only had Rodgers and Jordan Love as the only two quarterbacks on the roster.
The best advice I can give anyone is to believe in yourself. @packers ✍🏻
I’m so thankful. pic.twitter.com/L2W7laiR44
— Kurt Benkert 👻 (@KurtBenkert) May 15, 2021
Of the four quarterbacks signed with the Packers, Rodgers and Bortles are the only two that have any regular-season experience. The Packers expect to have Rodgers back with the team this fall despite his frustrations with the organization, but if for some reason he does sit out during the 2021 season, the team can go to Bortles who led the Jacksonville Jaguars to an AFC Championship game in 2017.
"I can't fathom [him] not being in Green Bay," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said when asked about Rodgers earlier this month. "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."
If Rodgers does return, the plan is to have Love be the top backup. But one of the reasons Rodgers is frustrated with the team is the fact they traded up in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Love and management didn't tell him. Rodgers, who won his third NFL MVP award in February, has three years remaining on his contract. He reportedly wants an extension on his deal so he can possibly retire in Green Bay.