After a brief window of uncertainty following the Green Bay Packers’ abrupt exit from the playoffs, Aaron Rodgers‘ future in green and gold seems a little less mysterious every day. All signs point toward Rodgers being back in town.
The latest indication that No. 12 will remain with the Pack came last week when it was announced that Green Bay is expected to hire Tom Clements as the team’s quarterbacks coach. Clements held that same position from 2006-11. He was the offensive coordinator from 2012-14 and then an associate head coach from 2015-16. He followed that with a two-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals but retired from coaching after 2020.
Why is this hire incredibly important? Rodgers credits his early development in the NFL to Clements.
Clements was a crucial part of the Packers’ championship team in 2010 and was credited with helping Rodgers win MVP in 2011 and 2014. Clements came into Green Bay with the Mike McCarthy coaching group in Rodgers’ second season. McCarthy gave up play-calling to Clements in 2015, which helped strengthen his bond with the QB. Although it’s been more than five years since they have worked together, Rodgers regularly brings up Clements in interviews and press conferences.
“I learned from Tom Clements,” he said. “We have three mortal sins as the quarterback: Don’t throw late down the middle, don’t make blind throws down the middle, and make no premeditated decisions.”
Clements hasn’t officially signed a contract with the Packers. However, he verbally agreed to the position on February 17. Although this isn’t a guarantee that Rodgers will stay, it gives fans a lot of faith that he is likely to return. They probably didn’t hire Clements for Jordan Love. It also would not make much sense for Clements to come out of retirement to coach Love. He’s probably returning to the game to re-team with Rodgers.
Additionally, Ian Rapaport from the NFL Network says that the Packers are planning to extend him for two years and make him the highest-paid player in the NFL. Extending Rodgers not only makes Green Bay more competitive but alleviates some of their cap issues.
Although such a large offer on the table may seem like a potentially risky decision for the Packers, it makes financial sense to extend him. A new contract could make him the game’s highest-paid player by average annual value while still making his cap hit in 2022 significantly lower via void years at the end of his contract. His cap number is currently $46 million, and the Packers can realistically get it near $30 million by extending him. So if Aaron Rodgers wants to stay with the team, this feels like a win-win situation.
The Packers seem confident that Rodgers will stay in Green Bay. Jordan Schultz has reported that multiple teams, including the Nathaniel Hackett-led Denver Broncos, have reached out to the Packers about trading Rodgers. Green Bay has continued to show zero interest. By hiring Clements, the Packers indicate that they think Rodgers will stay.
Rodgers saw how his predecessor, Brett Farve, disappoint his fans when he left the team the way he did. Favre turned from hero to zero. I don’t see Rodgers making the same mistake that Favre did. If Rodgers leaves, it won’t be in a way that makes fans resent his decision.
If we see a Rodgers return, you can predict that Davante Adams and other key players will soon follow. The Packers are all-in, and signing one of his favorite coaches feels like the Green Bay front office is pretty sure Rodgers is sticking around.
