Packers Rumors: Team will Trade Aaron Rodgers After 2021 If He Wants Out

In order for the Green Bay Packers to salvage their relationship with Aaron Rodgers — at least for the 2021 season — the team made several “concessions,” as Adam Schefter called them, to help lure back the reigning MVP for this season.

These concessions reportedly included voiding the 2023 season on Rodgers’ deal and restructuring the 2021 portion of his contract to free up needed cap space.

There will also be “mechanisms” — again, another Schefter word — put in place to address Rodgers’ issues moving forward. And, of course, the team traded for Randall Cobb, which GM Brian Gutekunst acknowledged was at the request of Rodgers.

The final concession that we know of, and perhaps the most important, is that the two parties will review the situation and take inventory of where they stand at the end of the season—which according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, means that that Green Bay Packers have agreed to trade Rodgers next offseason if that’s what he wants.

This all but confirms what I assume many had already expected.

Rodgers frustrations with the team are well documented at this point, after he aired his grievances in a press conference with reporters upon his return to Green Bay.

The longtime Packer quarterback mentioned numerous players that the team moved on from prematurely in his eyes, as well as wanting to provide input on certain roster moves along with possible free agents to target, among many other things.

Anything is possible, and perhaps if Rodgers sees the Green Bay Packers making a strong effort to change their ways in these certain areas that have bugged him in the past, he will want to return for the 2022 season. Winning could also help resolve some of the issues as well.

But when Rodgers was up at that podium, at least to me, it sounded like someone who really didn’t have any options since Green Bay was unwilling to trade him — which he didn’t — and that he is only here because he knows the opportunity in front of him with a roster this good.

When asked about his future, there was a lot of vagueness and uncertainty in his responses—which again, doesn’t mean that it’s a foregone conclusion that this is Rodgers final season in Green Bay, but right now that’s where I’d put my money.

After restructuring Rodgers contract for the 2021 season, he comes with a massive cap hit of $46.14 million. There is no chance that the Packers allow him to play with that large of a cap charge next season, so that means they’re either going to trade him or extend him.

If he’s traded before June 1st, Rodgers comes with a dead cap hit of $26.8 million, according to Over the Cap, which will result in $19.29 million in cap savings for Green Bay.

If they trade him after June 1st, they’re cap savings jump to $26.97 million—a large amount especially when you consider that Green Bay is projected to be almost $50 million over the 2022 salary cap at the moment.

As far as where Rodgers could end up, well, who knows. I imagine that if it gets to that point, Green Bay will be looking to trade him to an AFC team and out of the conference.

There is still a long ways to go before Green Bay and Rodgers have to have these types of discussions again, and it goes without saying, but obviously a lot can change between now and then.

For the time being, both Rodgers and Gutekunst have called their relationship “professional” and at least from our vantage point, any differences have been set aside as the team is back to actual football activities and the primary goal is winning a Super Bowl.