Report: Aaron Rodgers Returning to Green Bay for 2021 Season
In a twist of great news for Packers fans and horrible news for the rest of the NFC North, it appears reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers will be returning to Green Bay for at least one more season. As reported by ESPN and NFL Network. the Packers are on the verge of reworking Rodgers’ contract that would offer him concessions, most notably the option for a fresh start elsewhere in 2022.
The Packers open camp Wednesday and Rodgers is expected to attend thanks to a simmer in his relations with the Packers front office. He has been home in California in a stalemate that has left the NFL world contemplating his future. Retirement or a trade to Denver were among the many outcomes swirling in the rumor mill.
But it does appear the 37-year-old will make a dramatic return to Lambeau after concessions that include a void of Rodgers’ 2023 year, no income loss, and a promise to review Rodgers’ situation at the end of the season, according to Adam Schefter.
Rodgers has been quite open about his displeasure with Packers’ brass. When Green Bay surprisingly drafted Jordan Love in the first round of the 2019 draft, Rodgers publicly said he “wasn’t thrilled.” When Green Bay opted to kick in a field goal down 8 late in the fourth quarter of instead of going for it in January’s NFC Championship against the Buccaneers, Rodgers told the media, “it wasn’t my call.” It was that same press conference that Rodgers categorized his future as uncertain, setting off an omnipresent cloud of speculation this offseason. Rodgers’ absence from last month’s mandatory workouts only stoked the flames.
If reports are true and Rodgers is making his return, Green Bay will breathe a collective sigh of relief. In Rodgers, they are getting a quarterback fresh off a masterful season in which he threw 45 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Green Bay did however get ousted from its second consecutive NFC Championship game. Perhaps this is the season Rodgers and the Pack get over the hump. After all, 2021 just turned into a contract year for Rodgers.
