After a successful stint in Green Bay, their 18 years veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers could no longer carry on with the team. Initially, the reason behind the departure remained a mystery until the arrival of Rodgers’ recent statement.
The reigning MVP had four MVP titles, one ring and many more achievements in his pocket with the Packers, still, both parties were impatient in wanting a divorce, resulting in a blockbuster trade of the quarterback with the New York Jets in exchange for multiple draft picks.
Aaron Rodgers weighs in on communication breakdown in Packers
According to a recent report of the Athletic, A-rods’ relationship with the Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was not in the same boat. The quarterback tried to get rid of him and asked Packers president Mark Murphy to remove Gutekunst from the team. The Packers’ refusal to grant Aarons’ request led to the quarterback’s loss of interest in continuing to play for the team.
The 39-year-old spoke about the drama between him and the Packers’ general manager recently. The general manager attempted to reach the Jets quarterback via his phone in March but was unable to do so due to poor cellular coverage in ARs’ home and later accused the quarterback of not communicating properly.
However, Aaron on the contrary blamed the GM for his remark stating that he had tried his utmost from his side, also accused him of being at fault for poor communication because, despite agreeing on a specific time to meet, the GM had never ever managed to have a productive meeting with him.
ššš©šØš«š: Aaron Rodgers had requested the #Packers to fire GM Brian Gutekunst. Their refusal led to his request to be traded out of Green Bay all the way back in 2021
More on the latest report via @TheAthletic detailing Rodgers' exit from the Packershttps://t.co/ya3sdMeE9U
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 31, 2023
āDid Brian text me more than I texted him? Yeah, but did I ghost him? No,ā he said. āI texted him back. There was back-and-forths that we had and so this is the story you wanna go with? Youāre gonna stand on this hill of austerity and say that arguably in the conversation of the best player in your franchise history, youāre gonna say I couldnāt get a hold of him and thatās why we had to move on?”
āLike, cāmon man. Just tell the truth, you wanted to move on. You didnāt like the fact that we didnāt communicate all the time. Like, listen, I talk to the people that I like,ā he further added.
What did Gutekunst tell about the communication gap between Rodgers and the team?
The general manager previously claimed that he had done everything possible to get in touch with the four-time MVP, nevertheless, the quarterback’s lack of availability is to blame.
“I was really looking forward to the conversations with Aaron to see how he fit into that; those never transpired,ā he said.
Additionally, Gutenkunst accused the quarterback of dragging out every issue in the media without attempting to resolve it in person through face-to-face meetings with the team’s management.
āCertainly, whenever a player may have issues, you prefer that they talk to you directly and not do it in the media,ā Gutekunst said, ābut that’s not necessarily the way he goes about it and that’s OK. But, yeah, those things aren’t of our concern.”
After a month of drama, AR is now content in New York, and the Packers also look happy with Jordan Love as their starting quarterback replacement after 15 seasons.
