After the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was naturally down and said about the 2021 season, “a lot of guys futures, they’re uncertain, myself included,” per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.
When asked about Rodgers’ future, head coach Matt LaFleur said:
Matt LaFleur asked if Aaron Rodgers will be back next season.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) January 25, 2021
LaFleur leaves nothing uncertain: "I sure as hell hope so. I mean, the guy is the MVP of this league. He's the heart and soul of our football team. So, hell yeah. He better be back here. He's our leader."
The 2020 NFL season has been a great one for Aaron Rodgers, as he is the likely league MVP, but it was bookended by two painful instances. The most recent was losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game, but the first was the team drafting a quarterback in the first round and a backup running back in the second round when the team could have used help for their 38-year old quarterback this season.
Multiple Packers beat writers felt like Rodgers truly wasn’t sure if he would be quarterbacking the Packers in 2021:
— Brad Kelly (@BradKelly17) January 25, 2021
It probably doesn’t help that minutes before, LaFleur had taken Rodgers on the field on fourth-down at the eight-yard line down by eight points with just over two minutes left in the Championship game.
The odds of a trade are still long. CBS’ Joel Corry breaks down the money situation if the Packers were to trade Rodgers:
Rodgers has the NFL’s third-highest 2021 cap number at $36.352 million. Trading him before the $6.8 million becomes due would leave the Packers with a $31.556 million cap charge in 2021.
And that means the Packers would have to trade Rodgers before late March, when his $6.8 million roster bonus comes due.
Rodgers leaving the Packers would likely be a case of him saying he is done with the team. And at 38-years old, he likely wouldn’t be playing games. Of course, Rodgers was dejected after a tough loss and with some time and perspective, might not sound quite as unsure of where he’ll be playing next season.