You'd think nothing would take precedent over the 2021 NFL Draft than the actual spectacle itself, right? Well, information about Aaron Rodgers saw to it that most everyone following the league had at least one eye -- if not both -- firmly set on his rapidly dissolving relationship with the Green Bay Packers. In the hours leading up to the start of the draft of Thursday, word got out that the reigning NFL MVP has told those within the Packers organization that he does not want to return to the franchise for the 2021 season, citing a growing discontent between the two sides.
As you'd expect, this went nuclear across the league and the situation continued to marinate as the weekend progressed. Different reports bubbled to the surface, highlighting new areas of Rodgers' dissatisfaction with the team along with a few potential suitors if he ultimately broke away from Green Bay. One of the bigger pieces of information folks were able to chew on was a report from Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson, who noted that Rodgers would only entertain a return in the event that GM Brian Gutekunst was fired. There was also the reported speculation that Rodgers could simply walk away from the game altogether and retire if things weren't to his liking.
Of course, this looming divorce between Rodgers and the Packers is quite polarizing and opinions are flying in from every which way. The latest comes from Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who doesn't appear to like how Rodgers is handling this situation now and going as far back to when the Packers made the decision to draft quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
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"Him being that upset shows me how weak he is," Bradshaw told WFAN's "Moose and Maggie" on Monday. "Who the hell cares who you draft? He's a three-time MVP in the league and he's worried about this guy they drafted last year at No. 1? ... And for him to be upset, my god, I don't understand that. Pittsburgh drafted Mark Malone No. 1, Cliff Stoudt in the third or fourth round -- I had them coming at me from all angles. I embraced it because when we went to practice, I wasn't worried about those guys. They didn't scare me a bit. So I don't understand why he's so upset at Green Bay."
As for what Bradshaw would do if he was running the show in Green Bay: "I wouldn't budge. Let him gripe, let him cry -- retire, you're 38, go ahead and retire, see you later. I'm really strong about stuff like that, and it just makes him look weak. In my way [of looking at things], it makes him look weak."
As things stand currently, it looks like the Packers are following a similar path to what Bradshaw laid out. From the top-down, the organization has expressed zero interest in moving the player, so it appears as if we're at a standoff. Who'll blink first? We'll have to wait and find out. No matter which way the coin flips, however, the shine around Rodgers appears to have dimmed at least a bit in one Hall of Famer's eyes.
