National Football League

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers appear dug in, but could things change this week?

Updated Jun. 1, 2021 12:54 p.m. ET

The stalemate between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers doesn’t show signs of ending anytime soon. The question is whether this will be the week that changes.

Maybe not, as according to a report from The Athletic on Monday, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is holding firm that he "will not" trade Rodgers.

Gutekunst has maintained that stance since the NFL Draft, when news first broke that Rodgers was unhappy with Packers management.

"We've been working through this for a little while now. I just think it may take some time," Gutekunst said at the time. "I do think he'll play for us again. We're going to work toward that, and we've been working toward that on a number of different fronts."

Last week, though, Rodgers upped the ante with his first public comments on the saga, telling ESPN’s Kenny Mayne that he didn’t take issue with the Packers' selecting quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, but rather, it was about culture.

"It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go," he said. "It’s about character. It’s about culture. It’s about doing things the right way."

Both sides are dug in and don’t seem willing to budge. But if something were to change, this might be the week for it to happen. The reason for that, of course, is money.

A trade could become more feasible for the Packers beginning Wednesday because of a nuance in the salary-cap rules.

"If traded before June 2, Rodgers would count for more against the Packers' cap in dead money ($38.4 million) than his scheduled 2021 cap hit ($37.2 million)," Matt Schneidman wrote in The Athletic. "If traded after June 1, Rodgers' cap hit would be reduced to $21.2 million in dead money in 2021 — saving the Packers $16 million in cap space — and push $17.2 million of dead money onto the cap in 2022."

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports called the whole thing an "accounting trick."

"Rather than spreading it over the life of the contract, if you were to cut someone before June 1, you can spread it out over this year and just next season," he said. "So you would have the dead cap next year, but you wouldn’t have it over multiple seasons moving forward, and that helps really for teams that have high-priced veterans."

Jones pointed out that this doesn’t mean teams don’t arrange trades before June 1, just that they wait to announce them until after that date.

But for Rodgers and the Packers, that does not seem to be the case. Gutekunst has been consistent in saying that he isn't interested in trading his star, and it’s difficult to envision Rodgers going public with his complaints the way he has if trade talks were already happening.

As the stare-down continues, it might come down to which side blinks first.

Much of the talk since this story came to light has centered on the idea that the Packers would eventually give in because Rodgers has leverage as a future Hall of Famer.

Now that narrative is beginning to shift. The steadier the Packers remain, the more some, including Colin Cowherd, are beginning to wonder if Rodgers will be the one to fold. On a recent episode of "The Herd," Cowherd pointed out that Rodgers is unlikely to win the job as "Jeopardy!" host, has lost much of the Packers’ fan base and stands to lose $50 million if he retires.

"Aaron doesn't have the leverage. That’s why the way he wins this is to have the stomach to deal with it," Cowherd said. "Leverage is when you don’t need a stomach."

Former NFL player Bart Scott disagreed, arguing on ESPN’s "Get Up" that Rodgers has made it clear recently that the idea of sitting out doesn't bother him one bit.

"Aaron Rodgers looks unbothered," Scott said. "He’s unbothered. He’s ‘Look, I’ve got options. I’ve got money, I’ve got a career, I can do whatever I want.’ And what Aaron Rodgers is doing is flexing his muscles."

We can debate who, if anyone, has leverage in this situation, and we can argue about which side might be more willing to use that leverage. Is Rodgers really willing to give up millions of dollars to prove a point? Are the Packers really willing to put their Super Bowl dreams in the hands of an untested quarterback in Love?

The NFL offseason rules change this week in a way that could facilitate movement. If the stalemate in Green Bay continues nonetheless, we could be watching this situation drag on for some time.

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