Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst expressed optimism about the organization’s ongoing conversations with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a press conference on Wednesday, while in turn shooting down questions containing any “hypotheticals” about the four-time MVP‘s future.
Speaking to the media for the first time since Green Bay’s season came to a shocking end in the NFC divisional round, Gutekunst said that he “won’t go down those roads” regarding what would happen if Rodgers requested a trade in the coming weeks.
Gutekunst did make abundantly clear that the Packers and Rodgers have been in communication since the end of the season, implying that the conversations have been far more frequent and far more fruitful than they were last spring. However, Green Bay’s general manager explained that there‘s still more work to be done in talks with the 38-year-old quarterback before the situation is resolved.
“Those aren’t things that I’m speaking about here,” Gutekunst responded when asked if the Packers had deadline by which they needed a decision from Rodgers. ”I think this has been more of a conversation about where we're headed together. That’s a process that obviously we’re going through, that’s a process that he has to go through and we’re very respectful of that.”
Although Gutekunst refused to give up many details about the Packers’ internal discussions regarding Rodgers, he recognized the need to figure out the situation with the team’s veteran quarterback before making decisions on the rest of the roster.
“Obviously everything around here kind of centers around the quarterback,” Gutekunst explained. “That’s kind of how we do things. That’s a big piece of the domino that kind of has to fall before we go down other avenues. So it’s important, you know, as we go through this, the puzzle pieces that we got to make fit, I think so. That’s the first one to go.”
During an interview on the on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday, Rodgers neglected to give any insight into his future plans. He did however dismiss growing rumors about a potential retirement after he thanked his teammates and Shailene Woodley, in a cryptic Instagram post on Monday night.
“There's nothing cryptic about gratitude,” Rodgers said Tuesday of the post. “That was just where I was at. I was going through some old pictures from the last year and felt an intense amount of gratitude for the life that I have, for the lessons that I’ve learned and for the growth that’s happened over the last year and the people that have been a part of that journey.”
