An offseason of unknowns has begun for the Green Bay Packers, especially with regard to whether or not future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers will remain with the team next season or retire.

As opposed to the controversial offseason of a year ago when a disgruntled Rodgers and his only NFL employer seemed destined for a split, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made it very clear Monday that the team wants their 17-year veteran to return for 2022.

“Every conversation that I’ve been involved in with Gutey (general manager Brian Gutekunst) and Russ (director of football operations Russ Ball) and Mark (president Mark Murphy), we’re all on the same page there,” LaFleur said Monday. “There’s no debate.”

Speaking to the media on the heels of Green Bay’s stunning 13-10 upset loss Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers, LaFleur said he met with his quarterback Monday and while a decision was far off, there was no question the Packers organization hopes for a return.

“I sat down and talked to Aaron today for quite some time,” LaFleur said. “I think we’re all a little numb to the situation right now and, so, I would say that what we talked about, I’m definitely gonna keep between him and myself, but we’re hopeful that he’ll be back next year, obviously.

“This guy has done so much for such a long period of time for this organization, for this city, for this team, and so I want to be respectful of his process. Whatever he needs to go through to make the best decision for himself, and, certainly, we would love for him to be a Packer and be a Packer until the day he decides to retire.”

The Packers, who lost a playoff game as the NFC’s top seed for the second year in a row, must quickly pick up the pieces after becoming the first team in NFL history to win 13 or more games in three straight seasons without advancing to the Super Bowl.

The 38-year-old Rodgers did not disappoint this season, throwing for two or more touchdown passes in 15 of his 17 games and tossing up elite numbers (4,115 passing yards, 37 touchdown passes, four interceptions) for what may turn out to be the fourth MVP season of his career.

But he admitted after an ordinary Saturday winter night against the Niners (20-for-29, 225 yards) at Lambeau Field that while he will not drag out a decision about his future past the start of free agency on March 16, he also doesn’t plan to stick around if the team decides to start from scratch.

“I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing, so (there will be) a lot of decisions in the next couple months,” Rodgers said of the Packers.

The Packers are projected to be $44.8 million over the 2022 salary cap and other major decisions share the front burner with the Rodgers outcome. Wide receiver Davante Adams has said publicly he wants to be the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver and said last year there will be no hometown discount to stay in Green Bay.

To keep Rodgers, the Packers would need to sign him to a long-term extension. His cap charge in 2022 is $46 million, negotiated intentionally by Rodgers last offseason when his disdain for the front office came to light.

The mood has since shifted. If it’s up to his head coach, there is no decision from the Green Bay standpoint as LaFleur said he wants the Packers to do “everything in our power to try to get him back here and making sure he’s comfortable with the direction of our football team.”

“There’s no plan for a rebuild,” said LaFleur. “You get this close, obviously win a lot of football games, and we know in order for there not to be that, he’s gotta be a part of this thing. I don’t think that’s anybody’s intention.”

–Field Level Media

With no formal offseason preparation, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be limited in the preseason, coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Friday.

Locked in a stalemate with the Packers over his future this offseason, Rodgers didn’t participate in any team workouts before reporting to training camp this week.

LaFleur said he met with Rodgers and discussed the amount of throws he’ll make each day to spare “wear and tear” on his arm. He didn’t specify the number but said the Packers will be keeping count.

ESPN reported that in the past three days, he averaged 14 throws during 11-on-11 drills.

LaFleur also confirmed Friday that backup quarterback Jordan Love will take the majority of preseason reps.

Rodgers, the reigning league MVP, said he considered retirement but he and the Packers reached a contract compromise to keep him in Green Bay.

ESPN reported he signed a reworked contract in which the Packers are voiding the 2023 season from the deal.

The report said that the Packers also removed certain forfeiture provisions from the contract that would have allowed the team to try to recoup portions of Rodgers’ signing bonus should he retire.

Rodgers, 37, shared both the physical and mental preparation he did in the offseason via social media and addressed the mental aspect of sports this week.

“I think it’s important that we work on our mental state. As you’ve seen with Simone Biles, I think there needs to be more conversation around that,” Rodgers told reporters. “For me, it was just about clearing any of the clutter. That’s what I tried to do this offseason by adjusting some habits and spending some time with my loved ones, traveling as safely and as often as I possibly could and then making sure I was ready to go if I came back.”

–Field Level Media

A day after Aaron Rodgers made his first public comments about his desire for a trade out of Green Bay, Packers coach Matt LaFleur fielded questions about his MVP quarterback’s future once more.

“Aaron definitely knows how we feel about him, how he’s such an important part to our football team, such an important part to our organization,” LaFleur said Tuesday at Packers’ organized team activities. “We’re just going to continue to try to work through this and hopefully can get him back in the building at some point.”

Rodgers joined Kenny Mayne’s final episode of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Monday night and explained that no, his issue with the Packers is not about their decision to select quarterback Jordan Love in the first round in 2020’s draft, but more generally about the “philosophy” of the organization.

“I love Jordan. He’s a great kid,” Rodgers said. “(We’ve had) a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. An incredible 16 years.

“It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”

The Packers’ front office has said in statements to the media that it remains committed to Rodgers for 2021 and beyond. But Rodgers, whose trade request was made public a month ago on the first day of the draft, is digging his heels in. He did not report for voluntary OTAs in Green Bay this week.

That leaves LaFleur and the Packers unsure of who will start under center for them in September.

“We kind of talked about this with our football team. Right now there’s things that are in your control, and there are certain things that are out of your control,” LaFleur said. “I think that just our mindset right now is to focus on each individual. (Each individual) is focused on the things that they can control, and we need everybody to be at their best for us to continue to progress as a football team. So that’s kind of been the focus throughout.”

LaFleur added praise for Love, who did not take a snap as a rookie in 2020, saying “the ball is really jumping out of his hands right now.”

“We’re excited about some of the progress we’ve seen with him, but certainly there’s a long way to go there,” LaFleur said.

–Field Level Media