Aaron Rodgers - are we RELAX-ed?

[murphysxm]

Glad I am not a Packers fan

[Bronco Billy]

Glad I am not a Packers fan

I bleed Green and Gold. There are a whole bunch of people like me who are sick of this drama queen who thinks the Earth revolves around him. Either suck it up, shut up, play and make tens of millions or just go away.

The franchise will go on without you, Aaron. We survived the 50s (yeah, before my time) and the 70s just fine. We appreciate everything you gave to the team, but this recent behavior is too over the top diva - and especially with fans like the ones that GB has. Go join your other narcissist friends in CA if it is what makes you happy. Or join us. But stop the drawn out soap opera, the whining and the childish behavior. Act like a man for Pete’s sake.

[FiremanEd]

I mean, he wants to go do those things, but the Packers won’t move him. He’s made his opinion clear.

Fact is, the new regime in GB has driven this. Rodgers doesn’t owe them anything. He’s done everything in his ability to help the team. Management has blundered it. I get Packers fans being butt hurt, but the blame of anything and everything doesn’t go exclusively to Rodgers here.

Hopefully the team does let him go and then all the butt hurts and lackluster new regime can live like most of the rest of the league without a franchise, HoF caliber QB leading them to success every season.

[Bronco Billy]

Fact is, the new regime in GB has driven this. Rodgers doesn’t owe them anything. He’s done everything in his ability to help the team. Management has blundered it. I get Packers fans being butt hurt, but the blame of anything and everything doesn’t go exclusively to Rodgers here.

Rodgers has driven most of this. He’s an employee, but he wants to be treated like an owner. He hasn’t done everything he can to help the team - look at what Brady does that is doing everything he can to help his team. Brady lets money on the table so his team can put additional talent around him. He’s comfortable earning $10 million a season less than his market value, because he knows that the tens of millions he does earn every year is enough. Not Rodgers. He always needs to be the highest paid QB in the league and let the rest of the team be damned.

Rodgers was in the best offense in the league last year - and what does he go off and get into his current pouting snit about? That he needs more offensive toys around him. That’s not about the team - that’s about Rodgers feeding his own ego. The management makes personnel decisions without consulting him and getting his blessing first? Well, then he’s going to take his ball and go home.

Please. Rodgers is the poster child for his current generation loaded with me-first snowflakes. He’s a generational talent, no doubt. But he is that because GB took a chance drafting him when he was free falling in the 1st round despite having a HoF QB on the roster who had multiple years left in him. Who knows how Rodgers would have turned out with his delicate sensitivities if he were forced to start from day 1 on a crappy team with a crappy staff instead of being able to serve an apprenticeship behind some top talent both in playing and coaching capacity?

Could GB’s management have been more gentle and understanding, holding Aaron’s hand and wiping his nose while they made their decisions? Sure. I’m sure everyone’s company does that for them, right?

[Pac_Eddy]

I think it's the Green Bay management that's most to blame. Contract talks with Davante Adams have broken off, now Za'Darius Smith tweeted about finding a realtor (don't know if he's serious).

The Jordan Love pick, taking no WRs in one of the most loaded WR classes, etc is just poor. I agree with those who have said that management has coasted on the success of having consecutive Hall of Fame QBs. The team has underperformed.

I hope they trade Rodgers for max value and put this ugliness behind them.

[Cameron Giles]

Fact is, the new regime in GB has driven this. Rodgers doesn’t owe them anything. He’s done everything in his ability to help the team. Management has blundered it. I get Packers fans being butt hurt, but the blame of anything and everything doesn’t go exclusively to Rodgers here.

Rodgers has driven most of this. He’s an employee, but he wants to be treated like an owner. He hasn’t done everything he can to help the team - look at what Brady does that is doing everything he can to help his team. Brady lets money on the table so his team can put additional talent around him. He’s comfortable earning $10 million a season less than his market value, because he knows that the tens of millions he does earn every year is enough. Not Rodgers. He always needs to be the highest paid QB in the league and let the rest of the team be damned.

If a business model to making money or winning requires your best employee to take significantly less than what they're worth, then it sucks.

Rodgers doesn't owe Green Bay a damn thing. His responsibility is to maximize his worth while letting the front office build a winner around his true value. Green Bay has not done that. Rodgers won in spite of them last season. Green Bay spent their first three draft picks on players who didn't play.

[dm1129]

The notion that Rodgers is simply an employee is ludicrous.  The NFL is QB driven, this is not even a debatable point of view. Anyone even remotely familiar with a workplace in this country knows star employees are not treated the same as others.  Rodgers is the equivalent of an account representative responsible for 60% of total company sales.  Is that account representative in Corporate America going to be treated the same as an entry level clerk?  NO.  If that account representative is not treated well and decides to do something about it, does that make them a 'me first snow-flake' or a shrewd business person who recognizes they have the leverage and not the company?   The answer is obvious. The GB front office is completely to blame for this mess.

[osubuckeyeman]

https://youtu.be/bP-LRAdvank

My take on the retirement rumors.

[sugbear65]

It started out as a joke, but I’ve been telling one of my leagues that he was going to retire and go host Jeopardy! That scenario is seeming at least a smidge less far fetched now. I mean he’s a big nerd, loves trivia and the Jeopardy! show, it would be a great in for his post football career since he could host the show seemingly forever and has stated he has no interest in coaching or commentary, and posssibly could be feeling burnt out about football after the way GB had dealt with him. He’s 38, so it’s not unreasonable age wise, and other than winning another team a SB, what better way to stick it to the organization than by denying them compensation in a trade.
To be clear, I 99% don’t think that’s what happens, it’s still just a joke. But now there’s a “what if” to it that makes it plausible at least.

So like maybe 50/50 now? Lol. That Rodgers sure is one prickly pear.

[Kelldon]

Both are prolly to blame to some degree but the GB management really crapped the bed. It is really laughable some of the things they have done. Trading up in the 1st for Love was just stupid. Then taking AJ Dillon in 2nd was a unnecessary pick and not drafting a top wr was dumb. Next year GB won't have Rodgers or Adams and will prolly only win 5-6 games.

[nathanq42]

Both are prolly to blame to some degree but the GB management really crapped the bed. It is really laughable some of the things they have done. Trading up in the 1st for Love was just stupid. Then taking AJ Dillon in 2nd was a unnecessary pick and not drafting a top wr was dumb. Next year GB won't have Rodgers or Adams and will prolly only win 5-6 games.

I'll take the under on that win prediction. I doubt they get a win in the division except for a coin toss or two vs the lions. That team is in touch shape and I don't they are attracting any free agents at this point too. That offense sans Rodgers and Adams is bottom 5 imo. Decent line that is letting elite talent walk, a handful of practice squad WRs, and a top 10 RB... Defense losing pieces... Not good..not good at all... At least they will have some money to throw around

[abloom]

I don't know why we are surprised about Rodgers talking retirement, it's one of the only (if not the only) way of forcing himself out of green bay while under contract. He retires, his money comes off the books, GB then spends more money, Rodgers unretires next year and his money immediately comes back onto the books, gb then needs to start cuts or trades, and ultimately may just be easier to move on from Rodgers.

[mild]

I don't know why we are surprised about Rodgers talking retirement, it's one of the only (if not the only) way of forcing himself out of green bay while under contract. He retires, his money comes off the books, GB then spends more money, Rodgers unretires next year and his money immediately comes back onto the books, gb then needs to start cuts or trades, and ultimately may just be easier to move on from Rodgers.

A salient assessment. As a neutral NFL fan that also appreciates Rodgers, there's pretty much no outcome from here that isn't deeply hilarious and entertaining - and A-Rod pretty much gets to be right no matter which of them occurs.

If Love is amazing, then A-Rod is right - they should be trading him, because they're wasting Love's rookie contract and the competitive advantage you get from it, and they were "right" to draft the succession plan.

If Love blows chunks on a national stage (much more likely, and I think this is why Rodgers is forcing this outcome) then he's still right - because wtf were you doing trading up for a QB with one of the all time greats already on the roster. All the worse that they were one win away from Superbowl, and were beaten by a team that knows how to go all-in on their ageing HOF QB.

Good times.

[The MAC Machine]

I don't know why we are surprised about Rodgers talking retirement, it's one of the only (if not the only) way of forcing himself out of green bay while under contract. He retires, his money comes off the books, GB then spends more money, Rodgers unretires next year and his money immediately comes back onto the books, gb then needs to start cuts or trades, and ultimately may just be easier to move on from Rodgers.

A salient assessment. As a neutral NFL fan that also appreciates Rodgers, there's pretty much no outcome from here that isn't deeply hilarious and entertaining - and A-Rod pretty much gets to be right no matter which of them occurs.

If Love is amazing, then A-Rod is right - they should be trading him, because they're wasting Love's rookie contract and the competitive advantage you get from it, and they were "right" to draft the succession plan.

If Love blows chunks on a national stage (much more likely, and I think this is why Rodgers is forcing this outcome) then he's still right - because wtf were you doing trading up for a QB with one of the all time greats already on the roster. All the worse that they were one win away from Superbowl, and were beaten by a team that knows how to go all-in on their ageing HOF QB.

Good times.

I agree. Its the inability or the unwillingness of the GB Packers to make a move in one direction of the other that has led them to this point. They were caught with their pants down and now they are trying to have their cake and eat it too while seeking public validation to justify their ineptitude. Its honestly has made for good reality TV

[Ray Finkle]

Someone who knows someone I know (a source of a source tells me, lol) was at the Packers HOF in Lambeau on Friday and is swearing up and down he saw Sam Darnold with Brian Guttenwhatever.

While I find it hard to believe he mistook someone else for Darnold’s fat face, I can’t imagine there is anything to it. I just thought it was interesting. One hell of a kept secret if there is something in the works with Carolina.