Rodgers to The Athletic: ‘I Talk To People I Like’

Via exclusive interviews, The Athletic dove into the fractured relationship that led to the Packers trading Aaron Rodgers to the Jets.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When Aaron Rodgers went public with his desire to be traded to the New York Jets, Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show, “I love direct communication.”

The problem, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL meetings in Arizona, is he tried “many times” to connect with Rodgers without success.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, Rodgers called that an excuse for Gutekunst to do what he wanted to do from the moment he drafted Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft: Trade Rodgers and go with his hand-picked successor.

“Did Brian text me more than I texted him? Yeah, but did I ghost him? No,” Rodgers told The Athletic. “I texted him back. There was back-and-forths that we had, and so this is the story you wanna go with? You’re gonna stand on this hill of austerity and say that arguably in the conversation of the best player in your franchise history, you’re gonna say I couldn’t get a hold of him and that’s why we had to move on?”

Then came the money line.

“Like, c’mon man. Just tell the truth, you wanted to move on,” Rodgers continued. “You didn’t like the fact that we didn’t communicate all the time. Like, listen, I talk to the people that I like.”

Nobody says you have to like your boss.

Nobody says you even need to respect your boss.

But you should talk to your boss, no matter if you’re volunteering at the concession stand of the neighborhood ballpark or you’re the four-time MVP of one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports.

When your boss wants to discuss the most important topic imaginable – your future as the leader of the team and as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history – you should pick up the phone and engage in the type of direct communication you say you crave.

If your boss is spending several days in your neighborhood, as Gutekunst was when scouting the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and wants to meet for the most direct communication possible, you should make it happen, regardless of your “busy schedule” and “appearances.”

If FaceTime is so important, then reach out via FaceTime.

Ultimately, the story reveals what had been apparent all along: The time was right for the Packers and Rodgers to go their separate ways.

As the saying goes, there’s no “I” in the word “team” but you can spell “me.” When Rodgers was winning MVPs and the Packers were winning games, the “team” could handle the “me.” With Rodgers having turned 39 and with Love waiting in the wings, it was time to let Love, as Rodgers put it, “blaze his own trails.”

Schneidman hit on a lot of topics, including:

- The selection of Love and how the Packers’ draft-day plan didn’t work.

- Rodgers’ mind-set before and after his darkness retreat.

- The demand to fire Gutekunst.

- Communication with the Packers and Jets.

- The member of the front office who became an ally.

- The Davante Adams trade.

- Rodgers’ commitment to the team. “When I’m in, I’m all-in, and you wanna ride with offseason workouts?” Rodgers said.

- Rodgers’ thoughts on Love’s future.

For the full story, click here.

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