Packers GM: ‘We aren’t going to commerce Aaron Rodgers’ | WGN Radio 720

Brian Gutekunst, general manager of Packers, says he can’t think of a scenario in which he would deal with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“We’re not going to trade Aaron Rodgers,” Gutekunst said Thursday night after the first round of the NFL draft.

ESPN reported in the hours leading up to the draft that Rodgers does not want to return to the Packers. The ESPN report, citing unidentified sources, said the Packers offered to renew the incumbent MVP’s contract and that team CEO Mark Murphy, Gutekunst and trainer Matt LaFleur met with Rodgers over the off-season.

Gutekust responded to the report by saying, “We are committed to Aaron in 2021 and beyond”. He expanded on those remarks late Thursday after the Packers picked Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes in the first round.

“I’m not going to speak for Aaron, but I think we obviously have a really good team and I think he will play for us again,” said Gutekunst. “As I said, we are going to work towards it, and we have worked towards it on different fronts. The value it gives our football is really immeasurable, you know what I mean? He brings so much, not just as a player, but also as a leader. He’s so important to his teammates, to his coaches, so yes, that’s the goal. “

John Lynch, general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, admitted that he had inquired of the Packers about the possible availability of Rodgers and was quickly rejected. The 49ers picked Trey Lance, North Dakota State quarterback, with the third overall win.

“We asked and the conversation was over quickly,” said Lynch. “It did not happen.”

Without going into details, Gutekunst said Packers officials communicated with Rodgers on Thursday.

Rodgers, 37, has spent his entire career at Green Bay since the Packers drafted him as the 24th overall selection in 2005. But his long-term future has been a matter of speculation since the Packers made up four spots in the first round to pick Rodgers’ potential successor, Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, with the 26th overall pick on last year’s draft.

Rodgers admitted after last year’s draft that he was surprised by the Love selection and that it hampered his hopes of ending his career at Green Bay.

“I’m certainly looking back on last year’s draft and maybe some of the communication problems that we could have done better,” Gutekunst said. “There is no doubt about that. The design is an interesting thing. It can unfold differently than you think, and it happens pretty quickly. But I think when I look back where we are today, there could have been some communication things that we could have done better. “

Rodgers has three years to go after signing a four-year extension for $ 134 million in August 2018.

Even when Rodgers threw 48 NFL-leading touchdown passes last season and received his third MVP award, he described his future as a “beautiful secret.” After the Packers lost to Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship, Rodgers said that “the future of many guys is uncertain, including me.”

Rodgers tried to clear up those post-game comments less than a week later when he said, “I don’t think there’s a reason I wouldn’t be back” on the Pat McAfee Show in 2021.

“There are talks to be had. I’ll have her with the right people, ”Rodgers said at the time. “But it’s the same conversations we have every year. There’s no big one, ‘I’ll come to the table with I need this, this and this.’ Every year we have honest conversations about where we stand, be it with Brian, Matt or Mark. I’ve had these conversations for years. That is part of being a leader in the squad and having the team and the direction we are going in to have our finger on the pulse. “

This continues an eventful series for Rodgers, who became engaged to actress Shailene Woodley and was a guest host on “Jeopardy”. Rodgers said he would love to be the permanent host and believed he could make it according to his football schedule.

Green Bay designed Rodgers while future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre was still on his list. Rodgers spent his first three seasons supporting Favre, who announced his retirement in March 2008. When Favre retired later that year, the Packers exchanged him for the New York Jets and ushered in Rodgers’ arrival as their quarterback.

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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