Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers remain in an awkward spot with each other, and it seems Green Bay might be laying the blame for their fairly quiet offseason at Rodgers’ feet.
The Packers have largely focused on re-signing their own free agents, bringing Aaron Jones, Kevin King and Marcedes Lewis back into the fold. Little has been done to upgrade the Packers elsewhere, however, in part due to a lack of cap flexibility. In fact, an anonymous NFL agent told ESPN’s Rob Demovsky that the Packers have been citing Rodgers’ contract as a reason for their inactivity.
“It’s screwing the Packers in a lot of ways right now because there’s just no cap space,” the agent said. “They’ve called me about one of my players and said ‘Hey, this is where we are now, and until we get something big done — hint, hint — we don’t have any space.'”
The Packers could easily convert much of Rodgers’ $14.7 million base salary into a signing bonus, and they could do it without the quarterback’s permission. However, by pushing cap dollars into 2022, it would make Rodgers harder to trade. The same mechanism has come up in response to trade rumors involving another high-profile quarterback.
Rodgers continues to be evasive about his future with the Packers despite his success. The Packers seem unwilling to commit strongly to him, either.
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