Ex-teammate believes Aaron Rodgers will return to Packers originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
As minicamps across the NFL conclude and the 2021 offseason moves into its dull stage before training camp begins in late July, the top storyline surrounding the league remains the standoff between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP, missed all of Green Bay’s offseason workouts, both the voluntary OTA sessions and mandatory minicamp, too. Multiple reports have surfaced over the past couple of months that the nine-time Pro Bowler wanted out of Green Bay, but the Packers have remained hellbent on not trading him.
With the feud between Rodgers and the organization nowhere near a compromise, what will happen next remains unknown. But John Kuhn, a longtime fullback for Green Bay who spent nine years as Rodgers’ teammates, believes the quarterback will return to the Packers before the season and play for the organization again.
“It’s going to be an interesting stretch here. I personally believe nothing is going to happen until training camp,” Kuhn said on the Sports Junkies. “But I do eventually believe, because the Packers hold some serious leverage, too, I do believe the reigning NFL MVP will play quarterback again in the NFL. And I believe the only team he can play for this year is the Green Bay Packers.”
As for when Rodgers will return? Kuhn thinks it could go well into training camp, with the quarterback not showing up until potentially the final preseason game.
“I believe there is a possibility he sits out a portion of [training camp]. This is a guy that through 16 years of his career, has never missed one voluntary practice, let alone anything mandatory,” Kuhn said. “This is a guy that I fully trust if he has two weeks of preparation for the opening day game down in New Orleans against Sean Payton and the Saints, he will be just fine to run this offense, lead this offense and sling it at a good clip.”
While Rodgers might still have his reservations about playing for Green Bay again, Kuhn thinks what will ultimately bring the quarterback back to the Packers is his desire to compete.
“I personally see him as a competitor, see him as a man who loves football, a man who loves going out on the field and competing under the bright lights. I can’t see him sitting out,” Kuhn said. “Like I said, the Packers have some leverage too, and they are extremely dug in on the fact that they are not trading Aaron Rodgers.”
For much of the offseason, Rodgers has remained quiet about his feelings towards Green Bay. By not showing up to offseason activities, the three-time MVP did not address the media, either.
However, in a recent interview with Kenny Mayne to celebrate the ESPN anchor’s final SportsCenter show, Rodgers did say that his disappointment with the Packers has to do with “philosophy,” not the draft pick of Jordan Love in 2020, who likely will be Rodgers’ successor eventually.
When asked about that on Tuesday, Kuhn said that Rodgers and Love have a “great relationship” and that they genuinely enjoy being teammates together. Rather, where Rodgers’ issue with the Packers lies has to do with a lack of respect.
“To me, the feeling I got is that Aaron has an impression of the organization — some other players may as well, too — that the communication and respect within the organization to the players is not what it should,” Kuhn said. “Aaron Rodgers is looking to change that.
“This is an organization with two quarterbacks over the past 30 years. Highly successful,” Kuhn continued. “But it’s hard to look at an organization like the Green Bay Packers after the 30 years of success they’ve had and really say they’ve done a poor job. But we can all do better in some spots, and I think that’s where Aaron Rodgers is really pointing his finger.”
When Rodgers first entered the NFL, he was in a very similar situation to where Love is right now. Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for three years before Favre retired, paving the way for the current Packers star to finally get on the field. Then, though, Favre unretired and tried to return to Green Bay. The Packers shipped him off to the Jets and stuck with Rodgers.
Kuhn, who was on the roster for the entire Favre-Packers falling out, believes that situation scarred Rodgers and that the 37-year-old QB is trying to take more command of the rest of his career than his successor did.
“He understands, since he has been there as the successor position, just what it’s like when you are in that position where ‘I am the elder statesman. I am the guy that they are looking to someday replace,'” Kuhn said. “He is just trying to control his own destiny and be a little more proactive than some of these other guys did throughout the course of their career.”
Ultimately, though. Kuhn believes that Rodgers’ absence from Green Bay’s offseason activities is the veteran quarterback trying to prove a point and legitimately change the way things are run in the only organization he’s ever known.
“He’s trying to leave a legacy,” Kuhn said. “He’s trying to make a move right here that changes the way things are done inside 1265 Lombardi Avenue. He wants a different direction, more continuity, more communication.”
