After months of publicly quarreling with Green Bay's front office, reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers is reportedly returning to the Packers for the 2021 season.
NFL network reported Monday that the decorated quarterback has told confidants that he plans to play for the Packers this season, although that's not yet a certainty. General manager Brian Gutekunst recently told team shareholders act he was 'hopeful' for a positive outcome with Rodgers, who has criticized the 'character and culture' of the organization.
Rodgers, 37, has stayed away from the team, including skipping mandatory minicamp, generating months-long speculation about where he would play the 2021 season, if at all.
After months of publicly quarreling with Green Bay's front office, reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers is reportedly returning to the Packers for the 2021 season
NFL network reported Monday that the decorated quarterback has told confidants that he plans to play for the Packers this season, although that's not yet a certainty. General manager Brian Gutekunst recently told team shareholders act he was 'hopeful' for a positive outcome with Rodgers, who has criticized the 'character and culture' of the organization
Tom Brady (left) and Phil Mickelson (right) congratulate Aaron Rodgers after Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau won Capital One's The Match at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin on July 06, 2021 in Big Sky, Montana
Rodgers' last public comments came early this month when he said he had been devoting time this offseason to his mental health and spiritual self.
'We want him back, we're committed to him for 2021 and beyond,' president Mark Murphy told shareholders, adding that the standoff has been a 'challenging situation, but let's not forget all the great things he's done.'
Packers veterans report Tuesday with the first practice scheduled for Wednesday.
Previously, Rodgers reportedly declined a two-year contract extension in the offseason that would have made him the NFL's highest-paid player.
As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday, the proposed deal would have kept Rodgers in Green Bay for five more years and made him the 'highest-paid player and quarterback' in the NFL.
The refusal is 'proof' that Rodgers's issues with the club are 'not about the money,' Schefter wrote in a tweet.
There had been a growing belief that Rodgers would retire rather than return to the Packers.
With that thought ostensibly in mind, Westgate SuperBook recently removed projected wins, playoff odds, division odds and weekly lines for all four NFC North teams, according to Sports Illustrated. The publication cited its information as coming from an oddsmaker at the sportsbook.
According to SI.com, multiple sportsbooks were in agreement that Rodgers would retire prior to Green Bay's first practice on Wednesday. SI said one sportsbook lessened the odds of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to win MVP honors.
Also, Pro Football Talk reports that DraftKings and PointsBet have
