GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – This could be one of the most significant weeks in the history of the Green Bay Packers. The NFL Draft begins Thursday night and before the picking begins in round one, the Packers may officially bring the Aaron Rodgers era to a close. After a franchise record 18 years with the organization, Rodgers has made it known he wants to continue his NFL career and hopes it will continue with the New York Jets. General Manager Brian Gutekunst would like to oblige the four time Most Valuable Player but negotiations have stalled since the league meetings were held earlier this month.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported over the weekend the Packers and Jets have resumed talks but a deal is not imminent. If the Packers would like something in return from this year’s draft, where the Jets hold the 13th overall pick, two spots ahead of Green Bay, along with a pair of second round choices, the deal will have to be completed this week. If the draft passes without a trade, Green Bay will likely wait until after June 1 when they will be able to absorb a reported 40 million dollars in dead cap money into 2024, but they’ll also have to wait until then for compensation.
The team plans on moving forward with 2020 first round choice Jordan Love taking over at quarterback but following a disappointing 8-9, non-playoff season, the Packers have a roster with plenty of holes. Allen Lazard has already signed with the Jets, Robert Tonyan is now a Chicago Bear and the Packers don’t appear interested in bringing back other free agent veterans like Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Adrian Amos and possibly kicker Mason Crosby. Outside of tackle Yosh Nijman agreeing to a second round restricted free agent tender offer of 4.3 million dollars for 2023, Gutekunst has re-signed key players on his special teams like All Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon and cover man Dallin Leavitt.
Gutekunst will conduct his pre-draft press conference at Lambeau Field on Monday afternoon and while he’ll be asked about the Rodgers trade talks, odds are he won’t be very forthcoming about the deal or what he’s thinking heading to his 6th, and maybe most important draft as GM.
My Draft Preview Series is running this week on Midwest Communication stations and Gutekunst is featured in part one which aired Monday morning.
The 5th Quarter Draft Preview Special airs this evening at 5:00 PM, live from the Narrow Bridge Brewhouse in Howard. We’ll have highlights from the Gutekunst press conference, visit with Bill Huber, the Packer beat writer for SI.com and also spend some time with former Packer General Manager Ron Wolf. The show will be carried on WTAQ, WNFL, WHBL and WSAU.
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