Aaron Rodgers' Pendng Return to Green Bay Another Strange Chapter in Wild Off-Season

 The most bizarre story of the NFL off-season has taken another turn for the bizarre with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers planning to end his months long protest against Green Bay's front office, particularly President Mark Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst, and return to Packers camp when it opens up this week. 

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the two sides have been negotiating over the weekend to create a pathway to bring Rodgers back, including: voiding the 2023 season from his contract, creating a review of his situation after the season, and adjusting Rodgers' current contract so there is no loss income, at the same time creating cap room for the team to sign others (presumably wide receiver Davante Adams). 

Rodgers has made no bones he wanted nothing to do with the Packers this off-season. 

He questioned the culture established by the front office, routinely ripped the team's drafting of quarterback Jordan Love in the 2020 draft, and even threatened retirement. Earlier this off-season he demanded a trade, with many speculating that his desired destination was Denver. 

That of course never happened as Murphy and Gutekunst never budged. They offered Rodgers a contract extension and more money to become the highest paid player in the sport, he declined. It was never about money for Rodgers.  

It was about making a statement against a team, a system that he felt was unfair to him. 

In the end both sides have created seemingly irreparable harm to the other's reputation. 

We are now looking at a situation we have seemingly never seen before --- at least in the NFL -- where a quarterback clearly wants nothing to do with the franchise, but will willingly accept playing for them if it means he gets to choose his destination for the following season. 

The only example of such strife that comes close this kind of discord is Terrell Owens' bizarre stay in Philadelphia. The only difference being that Ownes' beef with the Eagles was his contract; that isn't the case apparently with Rodgers.

Owens was the apple of the Eagles eye in 2004. He was a Pro Bowler that year, and it was his efforts at wide receiver that kept the Eagles alive in Super Bowl XXXIX. 

However the relationship between Owens and Eagles deteriorated over the ensuing months as the wide out was looking for a new contract. The Eagles wouldn't give it to him.  Owens threw everyone under the bus from Donavan McNabb to head coach Andy Reid during the summer of 2005. Yet, somehow he returned to the team and played that year -- only seven games mind you -- since he was suspended by the team for conduct detrimental for the team. 

At the quarterback position there really hasn't been anything that has gone to this level of crazy. When Brett Favre retired and unretired again and again, the Packers had moved on from the former Super Bowl MVP, and wanted to proceed with Rodgers. 

Their prerogative since Favre had "retired." When Favre suddenly pulled a 180, there was the bad PR for both sides. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy got dragged into the mud with Favre, but at the end of the day Favre was traded to the Jets by August of 2008. He would get his revenge a year later when he got what he wanted -- play for the Minnesota Vikings. 

Tom Brady's "revenge" against Bill Belichick was less stated -- at least publicly. There was always rumblings that Brady was unhappy with Belichick's drafting of Jimmy Garappolo, and in Ian O'Conner's book "Belichick" it's detailed how Brady wanted to compete and beat the kid out. He did, gritted his teeth and didn't complain publicly. The Patriots won three more Super Bowl's before Brady -- a free agent after the 2019 season, got his "vengeance" last year when he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won the Super Bowl.

With Rodgers and the Packers, just the idea that two sides that can't stand each other are suddenly going to reconcile and the Packers will be Super Bowl contenders again seems far fetched, especially after it was dragged out so publicly.

The Packers should have traded Rodgers when they had the chance. They had capital to do so with Rodgers coming off an MVP season in 2020. They could have gotten a lot back in return, and Rodgers in turn would have gotten off a team he hates. 

Instead they will roll the dice that at 37-years old, Rodgers can duplicate his 2020 season, lead the Packers to LA and win Super Bowl LVI. Hey, anything is possible, but let's get real, it isn't likely to happen. 

What if Rodgers gets hurt? What does that do to his value then? What if the Packers underachieve this year, and anytime Green Bay losses we have to hear about how unhappy Rodgers is to be in Green Bay? 

It's a drama that nobody wants, needs or desires. Both sides made the bed and now they have to sleep in it. 

What a disaster for the people of Green Bay. But, hey, at least the Bucks won the NBA title.