National Football League

Aaron Rodgers opens up about strained relationship with Green Bay Packers

Updated May. 25, 2021 12:38 p.m. ET

The quarterback at the center of the NFL's biggest offseason saga has finally spoken.

For the first time since the drama began, Aaron Rodgers opened up about his fractured relationship with the Green Bay Packers.

In an interview Monday with Kenny Mayne, the departing longtime "SportsCenter" anchor, Rodgers kicked things off with a joke, saying, "I'm just here so I won't get fined."

But after channeling his inner Marshawn Lynch and paying homage to Mayne in celebration of his final show, Rodgers finally addressed the situation with his team.

Speaking while on vacation in Hawaii, the reigning MVP dismissed the notion that Green Bay's decision to trade up and draft Jordan Love in 2020 was the sole source of his discontent.

Rather, the 37-year-old quarterback's unhappiness ostensibly is tied to how general manager Brian Gutekunst went about it, with Rodgers pointing toward a disconnect philosophically.

"With my situation, look, it’s never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan," Rodgers said. "I love Jordan. He’s a great kid. [It's] a lot of fun to work together. I love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay ⁠— incredible 16 years. It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character. It’s about culture. It’s about doing things the right way."

This past season, Rodgers led the league in completion percentage (70.7%), touchdown passes (48) and passer rating (121.5), guiding the Packers to the NFC Championship Game for the second straight season.

He admitted Monday that his play this past season put the Packers in a tricky spot, with Love presumably having been drafted as Rodgers' heir apparent.

"A lot of this was put in motion last year, and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year," Rodgers said. "This is just kind of, I think, the spill-out of all that. But it is about the people, and that's the most important thing."

To Nick Wright of "First Things First," Rodgers sent a distinct message by applauding just about everyone involved with the Packers organization except the GM.

"Aaron Rodgers did everything there but name-check the ball boys," Wright said. "And Brian Gutekunst is watching like, ‘Maybe? Maybe something? A little something?’ … That, to me, it was very clear who he was talking about and what he was talking about."

To Greg Jennings, who spent seven seasons with Rodgers in Green Bay from 2006 to 2012, Rodgers' comments sounded like those of a player who feels that his opinion doesn't matter.

"I think he's talking about input," Jennings said.

"He's been a part of this organization for years, and where he is in his career, you would think — and he would think ⁠— that what comes out of his mouth will be taken into real consideration. And I just don't believe that has taken place. … Aaron Rodgers felt like, ‘My voice doesn’t even really carry weight, and I am who I am!'"

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NFL Network's Peter Schrager went so far as to say he isn't confident that Rodgers will be under center for the Packers in Week 1 of the upcoming season.

Based on Rodgers' missing voluntary organized team activities for the first time in his career this week and the fact that the QB seems so calm but still unwilling to commit to Green Bay, any resolution could be a long way off.

Despite Rodgers' first public comments on the situation, it appears that this saga is far from over unless the Packers make a definitive decision, in Brandon Marshall's eyes.

According to Marshall, team president Mark Murphy has to make a choice — and fast.

Stay tuned for more "As The World Turns: NFL Edition" as this offseason soap opera continues into the summer!

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