Relationships between professional athletes and their teams are idyllic. They last forever, there’s never any drama, and it’s always smooth sailing.
We all know the reality of these things. That opener reads like a headline for a dating site. It isn’t close to any reality. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers know that better than just about anyone.
With training camp a little more than a month away and no sign of Rodgers returning — especially with what he’s said on Kenny Mayne’s final SportsCenter and in “The Match” interview with Tom Brady and Co. — is anyone else to the point of flinging this whole dilemma off the top of a skyscraper and pivoting to being excited about Jordan Love?
First-round quarterbacks are usually the fancy, shiny new toys. Everyone salivates, wants the timelines pushed up for playing time, and the intrigue is endless. The problem in Love’s case is that Green Bay already had the fancy, shiny toy — it just wasn’t new. So the normal excitement that comes with a team drafting a quarterback in the first round fizzled out because the Packers already had Aaron Rodgers. No. 12 inadvertently compounded this dynamic and winning the MVP this past season. Now the offseason has been filled with nothing but doubt, headaches, and the lack of a solution.
It sounds insane even to mention the thought of this, and there will be those that shout how spoiled Packers fans have been, but this Rodgers thing is just getting stale at this point. Say something, anything, definitive. If you still want to be gone, so be it. It’s been a hell of a run. Holding everyone in purgatory while they wait for anything to come from your mouth is fun at first, but it’s flat-out annoying after two months.
Do Packers fans want Rodgers back? My dear God, one would hope so. He’s the league MVP and clearly gives Green Bay the best chance to win a Super Bowl right now. He’s one of the best at his position and elevates the play of everyone around him on the offense. But there are limits to all of that. How much does Green Bay have to bend the knee before any whispers emerge from the Rodgers camp?
This started as a staredown from both sides and quickly became Brian Gutekunst and Mark Murphy backpedaling beyond belief to worship the ground Rodgers walks on. And it apparently still isn’t enough. The backtracking by those two doesn’t dismiss the fact that mess they are currently rolling in was self-inflicted to some extent. But it’s no longer a staredown between the two sides. It’s become one massive grudge that Rodgers is holding while he shows up for a widely promoted interview for a golf exhibition wearing an “I’m Offended” T-shirt.
After two months of this, there should be no judgment passed if people want to shift the focus to Jordan Love and his preparedness for Week 1. Also, what the hell happens if this dude is actually good?
Imagine a scenario where Rodgers continues to troll through July and into August, hoping that everyone will get on their knees to plead for his return, but instead, Love has become the focus, and he’s balling out. Why hasn’t this been discussed more?
Rodgers is a no-doubt, first-ballot Hall of Famer. The fact that he not only filled the shoes of Brett Favre but will likely go down as an even better quarterback — he’s certainly more gifted throwing the pill — is mind-boggling. When Favre retired then wanted to come back, most fans were ready to welcome him with open arms. It wasn’t that there was a lack of faith in Rodgers; he was a proven commodity. Now the tables have turned on Rodgers. There is natural hesitation with Love because nobody has ever seen him throw a pass in the NFL.
But what on earth would Rodgers’ reaction be if he goes through this whole scene without just screaming he wants the divorce only for Jordan Love to step in and fling the rock like it’s no big deal? His whole master plan could backfire. Is that likely to happen? Your guess is as good as any at this point. But after waiting on word over the last two months, some fans have thrown up the peace sign and want the trade haul in return and the Love era to begin.
Green Bay’s front office has stated they want Rodgers back. His teammates are being peppered with questions every day about this, and they continue to reiterate that they want him back. Fans started by sprinting to the panic button when the news broke on draft night that Rodgers wanted out, and it goes without saying that anyone in and around Green Bay wants him back. But that might not be enough for him at this point. And if that’s the case, oh well.
This isn’t how these types of sports breakups go. There’s usually public finger-pointing, more disputing, a demanding of a trade, then a holdout if necessary. Then when player returns for his first game back, there’s a tribute on the jumbotron everyone goes wild for. We forget about the messy breakup and remember the good times.
What we have here is a case of a staredown and a caving in by the Green Bay front office. But this is also a case of the athlete who refuses to let anyone know what the endgame is. Rodgers can play those cards close to the vest; that’s fine. But it appears as though the plan might be to keep clinging tight to the grudge, one that the front office has let go of. And as a result, some have become giddy about the idea of Jordan Love being the shiny, fancy new toy.
