The Green Bay Packers don’t know if Aaron Rodgers plans to return next season, but the team isn’t pushing its star quarterback out the door.
General manager Brian Gutekunst reiterated Friday that the Packers are hoping Rodgers comes back.
“We made a really big commitment to him last offseason,” Gutekunst said in a press conference. “As we did that, it wasn’t certainly for just (2022). He’s gonna take his time. The communication will be pretty constant as we move forward.”
The club will be patient as the four-time Most Valuable Player makes a decision about his future.
“We’ve had great conversations like we always do,” Gutekunst said. “I really respect the process he goes through after the season. He’s done this for a long time. What he goes through during the offseason to get prepared for a season is significant, and I understand the decision he has to make on whether he wants to go through that. So I’ve always tried to give him that time.”
Rodgers, 39, was the NFL’s MVP in both 2020 and 2021, but he endured one of the poorest seasons of his career in 2022. He completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns while tossing 12 interceptions.
Asked about the future of backup quarterback Jordan Love, Gutekunst said, “We are very excited about Jordan and where he’s at, there’s no doubt about that, but Jordan’s never played a 16-, 17-game season and gone through all that stuff. So it’s no different than when we moved from Brett (Favre) to Aaron, right? That’s a hard thing to say, but at the same time, where Aaron’s at, the level he’s at, there’s not many teams he wouldn’t give the best chance to win.”
The Packers needed only to earn a home win over the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale to reach the playoffs, but Green Bay lost 20-16 to finish 8-9 and miss out on the postseason.
–Field Level Media