Packers GM Says He Received Only One Call About Aaron Rodgers Trade

Aaron Rodgers isn't happy with the Packers, in particular general manager Brian Gutekunst.  The news broke on Thursday prior to the first-round of the NFL Draft that the reigning MVP wanted out of Green Bay.

Rodgers reportedly wants the Packers GM to be fired or he won't return.  More surprising is that Green Bay only received one call about trading for Rodgers.  He turned it down and there have been no discussions according to Gutekunst.

From Pro Football Talk:

Rodgers’ discontent, as has been well-documented, is real. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reported much of it is focused on GM Brian Gutekunst, and a source said Rodgers is adamant that he won’t return to the Packers with Gutekunst as GM.

I have heard that Rodgers has not demanded the ouster of Gutekunst. But maybe Robinson’s right and I’m wrong. Regardless, this is more, I believe, about the traditional structure of the Packers, a structure that hasn’t bent much to give influence to players, that hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years.

“Do you think Aaron’s relationship with the Packers is irretrievably broken?” I asked Gutekunst on Sunday afternoon.

“No, I don’t think so at all. That’s my opinion and that’s the organization’s opinion,” Gutekunst said. “We want Aaron to be our quarterback. We’re pretty resolute with that . . . We want to leave every avenue open for that to happen.”

As for Rodgers’ reported feelings about him, Gutekunst said “you never want to see those things or read those things. He’s never said that to me and he never said that publicly . . . At the same time, I’m a lifelong scout, and we work all year for these three days. We couldn’t let this distract us from the task at hand.”

Rumors floated Thursday and then over the weekend about multiple teams contacting the Packers to try to deal for Rodgers. Though it’s possible president Mark Murphy or coach Matt LaFleur could have fielded a call or two, it’s hard to envision any discussion going anywhere without the GM knowing about it. When I asked Gutekunst about any trade talks for Rodgers, he said:

“I had no [trade] discussions with any team. I received one call from a team Thursday night, after all the news came out. I said no. That was the end of the conversation.”

You would think there would be more teams calling than just the 49ers.  I get that the price tag might be too steep for some teams, but the 49ers aren't the only team that could use a veteran quarterback who beats up on a weak division year after year only to lose to a good team in the playoffs.