Winds of change aren’t blowing
If it’s not a red flag, it’s at least yellow. The Green Bay Packers did not convert Aaron Rodgers’ $6.8 million roster bonus into a signing bonus for salarycap relief by Friday’s deadline.
Maybe it means nothing other than the Packers are waiting until they need the cap room to create it. Maybe it’s only an abundance of fiscal prudence.
But it’s hard not to suspect something else might be in play, too.
The Packers need all the cap space they can get – another $9 million to $10 million just to cover built-in costs, and that’s not even counting any veteran free agents they might want to add in the coming weeks. So why not take the extra cap room from the bonus conversion while it’s there?
The Packers are going to have to do something with Rodgers’ contract for cap relief regardless. So why the wait? Why pass up easy cap savings that are gone now?
Is it because they’re still working on a restructure that will give Rodgers certainty he’ll be their quarterback in 2022?
Or are they hedging their bets and keeping as much of his money as possible off future caps because they might want to turn to Jordan Love as early as 2022?
For that matter, does Rodgers even want to come back to the Packers this year without some assurance about ’22 or beyond?
It all goes back to Rodgers musing on his “uncertain” future after the NFC championship game. As of now, nothing appears any more certain than in the days immediately after that loss to Tampa Bay that kept the Packers out of the Super Bowl.
It leaves open the question of where things stand between the Packers’ front office and future Pro Football Hall of
Fame quarterback. This is not, after all, a one-way street. Rodgers is under contract through 2023, yes, but that doesn’t mean the Packers are in control. If we’ve learned anything in the last year or two, it’s that elite quarterbacks are becoming more like NBA superstars in not just recognizing their immense power but being willing to exercise it to get out from a team when they want out.
“It’s hard to tell (what’s going on with Rodgers and the Packers),” said a representative from a large player agency who has a client on the Packers. “(Rodgers) is not exactly the most predictable guy, especially as of late, and he’s getting more and more comfortable speaking his mind and being cryptic and creating buzz around himself. So you never know.
“He might be looking at it as, this is my opportunity to go play someplace where they’re going to gear it up, like Tom Brady did basically, and compete for a title or