Green Bay Packers President gives peculiar answer on Aaron Rodgers potentially returning as starting QB

It’s basically an open secret at this point that the Green Bay Packers don’t want Aaron Rodgers to be their starting quarterback in 2023. While no one has outright said it, the team apparently wants to hand the reins to Jordan Love and ship Rodgers elsewhere.

And some recent comments from team president Mark Murphy would seem to confirm that Rodgers is persona non grata in Titletown. Speaking with WBAY’s Adriana Torres, Murphy said that will be the Packers starter in 2023 only if things don’t go according to whatever plan the Packers have laid out.

“If things don’t work out the way that we would want them,” Murphy said.

He further expounded on his thinking.

“Very few players play for only one team. Brett had a great career here. Aaron had a great career here. Regardless of what happens, Aaron will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He will be in our hall of fame. We will bring him back and retire his number,” Murphy said. “But this is just one of the things that you go through as a team. We want to try to achieve something that is good for both Aaron and us.”

Murphy told WBAY that he hopes to have the Rodgers situation resolved prior to the beginning of free agency, and that the Jets had been given permission to pursue Rodgers for a potential trade.

As for Love, Murphy has confidence in the quarterback and organization to get him ready.

“We do think he is ready,” Murphy said.

Report: Green Bay Packers ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers, per veteran NFL reporter

The Green Bay Packers are ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers, according to one veteran NFL reporter. Bob McGinn, formerly a Packers beat writer and now a contributor to Go Long, explained his reasoning on a recent podcast episode.

In short, decision makers in the Packers organization are fed up with dealing with Rodgers, his seeming lack of dedication finally outweighing his immense talent in their eyes. That, coupled with confidence in the other quarterback option, Jordan Love, has McGinn relaying that the Packers are ripe to ship the star quarterback elsewhere. The full podcast is paywalled.

“They’re disgusted with him and they’re done with him and they’re moving on. This is going to involve money and a trade partner and all kinds of things. But I’m totally convinced he is not going to be their starting quarterback this year. On the other hand, they love Jordan Love. They think he’s the second coming now. They’ve seen enough in practice for three years, that they believe he is like Rodgers 2.0. That’s where this organization is coming from right now. They have turned the page, just like they did to [Brett] Favre in June and July, those months in the summer of 2008 and I don’t see it changing,” McGinn said.

He continued in his explanation, noting that even if the Packers can’t find a trade partner and ship Rodgers out, he thinks he will be the backup. And an expensive one, at that, costing $59 million.

However, McGinn thinks the quarterback sees the writing on the wall, too, and will ultimately acquiesce to a trade.

“This is everybody, I’m told. This is [Mark] Murphy. This is [Matt] LaFleur. This is [Brian] Gutekunst. This is the whole shooting match. They’ve turned the page. They don’t see Rodgers as a guy who’s really working hard anymore. They see a guy who — when he reported this year — his body wasn’t so-called ‘tight’ and strong as it was. They see a guy who blew off the offseason last year. … They’re done. It’s a hard guy to be done with,” McGinn said.