Ex-teammates think Aaron Rodgers may not return to Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin – Aaron Rodgers hasn't spoken out about his future with the Green Bay Packers, but his former teammates have opinions about where Rodgers and his "earned destiny" might end up.
The Green Bay Packers' season ended with more heartbreak than hope, suffering from a brutal loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that took them out of contention to be Super Bowl champions.
The frustration that Rodgers tried to hide when things didn't go the team's way became so undeniable that trade rumors started flying about his unhappiness with the front office and his desire to leave the organization.
Of course, it was all hearsay until two of Rodgers ex-teammates, Brett Favre (51) and John Kuhn (38), jumped into the conversation with their personal insight.
In a radio interview with ESPN Wisconsin's Wilde and Tausch, Favre touched on a recent conversation he had with Rodgers, and why he thinks a trade is in his near future.
"I think I know Aaron fairly well, and honestly I just don't see him coming back."
Favre continued: "If there's not a trade, my gut tells me that he'd rather sit out than play. That's just my gut."
The former Packers quarterback, who left the team in Rodgers' hands in 2008, also recalled a text message conversation he had with the 37-year-old MVP – offering him insights from his own personal trade experience when leaving the team.
Despite Favre's gut feeling, Kuhn shared a more optimistic and promising perspective about Rodgers and his future with Green Bay.
Two perspectives are better than one
In an interview with CBS Radio, Kuhn said, "He's conflicted because this man loves to play the game of football, this man loves to be a Green Bay Packer and this man truly sees careers."
Being a hall-of-fame inductee and league MVP leaves a lot of room for Rodgers to negotiate a deal with a different team in search of another Super Bowl ring.
Still, Kuhn thinks the Packers quarterback would rather win another Super Bowl with the Green Bay organization, but problems with the front office complicate things.
"He's just trying to take his earned destiny within his own hands," Kuhn told CBS Radio.
Endless rumors have been flooding the airwaves about Rodgers' future and where he wants to be, with some saying his goal is to end up on a team like the Denver Broncos, or the Oakland Raiders in his home state of California.
The Spun reported that others believe trading him for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield would be a winning move, although Browns fans are adamantly against the possibility.
One fan tweeted, "I'd rather lose with Mayfield than win with Rodgers."
The deadline for Franchise Player trades is July 15. After then, players can only sign one-year contracts until their season is over.
Rodgers will likely spend the next two months weighing his options and debating his fate.
Cover photo: IMAGO / Icon SMI