For three months, the NFL media and football fans engaged in the ‘Will he – Won’t he’ game of whether or not reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers would ever play a down of football for the Green Bay Packers again.
Adam Schefter made you believe the relationship between Rodgers and Green Bay would never be fixed. Mark Schlereth made you believe he would be traded to the Broncos. PFF made you believe that he would rather retire than play in Titletown.
I’m going to preface the next line. Man, it’s going to feel so good to type.
Those guys were all wrong. Aaron Rodgers is back.
The three-time MVP, future first-ballot Hall of Famer reported to camp on Tuesday morning for training camp.
After a summer filled with questions, Rodgers and management within the organization came to an agreement over the weekend on terms for his return. My takeaways for now are that it’s a win-win for the two parties.
Before I explain why I think the concession is a success, I’ll list the terms – courtesy of everyone’s favorite NFL insider Adam Schefter.
The 2023 year in Rodgers’ contract will be voided, with no tags allowed in the future. His contract would be adjusts with no loss of income, which would give the organization more cap space.
Then, mechanisms will be put in place to address Rodgers’ issues with the team. The two parties will review the situation at the end of this season.
My takeaway? This is a good thing.
Not because of the voided year for Aaron. Not because of the created cap space for Green Bay.
It’s a good thing because this gives the two parties more time.
“Time heals all wounds.”
I love that saying, because there’s a bit of truth to it. I know how disgruntled Rodgers is with management in the organization. But there’s now a good six months where the organization can try to work things out with Rodgers by addressing his issues and mending relationships.
Plus, winning fixes everything.
Best-case scenario: The Packers have another winning season, Rodgers plays at an MVP level again, Rodgers and management work things out throughout the course of the season and he signs and extension to finish his career in Green Bay.
Worst-case scenario: The Packers struggle this season, the two sides meet on an agreement to trade Rodgers and Jordan Love gets another year to develop.
And if this truly is the Last Dance, like Rodgers and Davante Adams maybe indicated with their cryptic Instagram stories, at least we get to enjoy one final season with one of the all-time greats leading the Green Bay Packers.
——————
Gunnar Davis is a lifelong Packers fan and a recent graduate of Simpson College, where he was a 3-year letterwinner on the offensive line and graduated with a degree in multimedia communications. You can follow him on Twitter at @Gunnar57Davis.
——————
The post Can time heal all wounds? Aaron Rodgers arrives for Packers training camp first appeared on PackersTalk.com.
Leave a Reply