Packers GM Brian Gutekunst issues latest update on Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst provided some clarity on the Aaron Rodgers situation while at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week.

While Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has no major news to share on the Aaron Rodgers situation, he did add a few details to what his team’s offseason plans are.

Gutekunst said during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday that he anticipates Rodgers making his decision on what he wants to do (stay, be traded, retire) before the start of the new league year. That would be right around when NFL free agency begins in two weeks. He also added what the Packers plan to do about wide receiver Davante Adams is separate from Rodgers.

Thought to be a package deal, what do Gutekunst’s comments about Adams and Rodgers being mutually exclusive entities at this point of the offseason truly signify?

Green Bay Packers GM provides update on the Aaron Rodgers ongoing situation

By saying the Packers are going to make their decision on Adams independently of Rodgers, it may indicate Green Bay would either use the franchise tag on the star wide receiver or put together a long-term deal for him to stay put, no matter what Rodgers decides. Ultimately, there is pretty much no way Rodgers returns to Green Bay without Adams being part of the equation.

If Rodgers were to request a trade, it would probably be to a team like the Denver Broncos. His former offensive coordinator in Green Bay is now the Broncos head coach in Nathaniel Hackett. Though they play in a tough AFC West division, Denver is essentially one great quarterback away from being the 2022 version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Rodgers being their Tom Brady.

Though Adams could sign up to play in Denver in free agency if the Packers let him walk, it only makes sense to do so if Rodgers is there. If Green Bay lets him walk after Rodgers potentially retires, the favorite to land him would be the Las Vegas Raiders. They need a No. 1 wide receiver badly. Plus, the Silver and Black are quarterbacked by his former college teammate, Derek Carr.

While Gutekunst did not offer much, the Adams and Rodgers decisions being independent of each other makes everyone question what the future may hold for the Packers organization.