There is a different way to perceive the saga that sags onward (or is it downward?) between the Green Bay Packers and their 3-time MVP quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. And yet held within this perception is perhaps a remedy to the seeming dilemma, if it can be seen as such.

But first, a look at the egoic game being played is in order (which includes more characters than might be imagined), with a tad bit of stage-setting first.

The Green Bay Packers have had the luxury of being led by two surefire Hall of Fame quarterbacks for three decades now. Wow! Who else can boast of such a thing? The first one, Brett Favre, waxed and waned on the possibility of retirement for several years such that management decided to draft his eventual replacement in case Favre followed up on his public musings. The second one, Aaron Rodgers, the one they drafted at that time, did the opposite, dreamily espousing his desire to play for GB until Father Time dragged him away, or something to that effect.

And they drafted his eventual replacement anyway, arguably when he had/has several years left in the tank.

It would be exceedingly rare to trade up in the 1st round to draft any player, much less a quarterback, with the intent of said player riding the bench for more than a year, and certainly not more than two years. Any rhetoric to the contrary should be met with a raised eyebrow. And yet this is exactly what Green Bay did, suggesting to Rodgers that his dreams of extended tenure were just that - dreams. It has been said by many that they should have extended Rodgers the courtesy of letting him in on their plans. But I’m guessing that to Rodgers it made little difference that they said FU without telling him that they were about to say FU.

At any rate, let’s introduce the players in “Game of Egos”:

Let’s start with the main character, Mr. Rodgers himself, considered one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. As stated, he had mentioned his dream to remain betrothed to Green Bay until death due them part, and yet discovered his beloved scrapping those vows and falling for a younger version. But with a caveat - “please hang around for a bit and help us make sure that we made the right decision”. One wonders if they forgot that not too many folks enjoy watching their beloved adulterate the relationship, not only in front of them, but with the whole world watching. Rodgers was almost guaranteed to be deeply wounded. And if wounded, he would most certainly respond so. And has.

Player number two is actually more of a tag team - GM Brian Gutekunst and CEO Mark Murphy. (Of course there could be more supporting actors behind the scenes, but they will do for our production) Mr. Gutekunst has the title of GM and ostensibly pulled the trigger to shoot Rodgers through the heart due to his infatuation with Jordan Love, the young quarterback that he selected in the 1st round of the 2020 draft. Mr. Murphy, who may or may not actually be responsible for the Love selection, has done his damnedest to stir the pot as of late. For one, a fan recently emailed a question that was basically as inane as, “How is your Grandma?”, to which he ‘publicly’ responded that Rodgers was dividing Cheesehead Nation, while also stating that they should not speak ‘publicly’ about the situation. A few days later, out of the blue, he ‘publicly’ quoted former GM Ted Thompson, who died earlier this year and can therefore not affirm or deny Murphy’s statement, that, “Rodgers is complicated.” Not exactly an olive branch.

To show how deep this “Game of Egos” really goes, we are going to also introduce a stalwart from the media, the founder of Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio. Why? Because this saga has sucked in the entire NFL media, and no one addresses the story more so than PFT. PFT is a ‘go to’ for many due to their tireless research, interesting content, and for Mr. Florio’s witty picturing and delivery of the NFL landscape. And yet, while tuning in to watch and listen to Florio and Chris Simms dissect the situation shortly after the draft, it became clear within the first few minutes that Florio holds a pretty strong grudge against Rodgers, as Florio spoke emotionally and resoundingly of Rodgers’ penchant for grudge holding. Sure enough, a slight bit of research revealed a locker room interview where Rodgers spoke unflatteringly of Florio. And around and around we go.

And hey, let’s throw in one more player to spice it up (though there could be many more) - former Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL sportscaster, Terry Bradshaw. Mr. Bradshaw basically called Rodgers a ‘pussy’, suggesting that he, Bradshaw, had similar things happen to him while in Pittsburgh and that he had handled it like a man. It does not take much research and/or insight to know an apple from an orange for most of us, though, and so we can assume that perhaps Bradshaw had responded to the situation after eating a bad bit of beef, or something of the like.

The common thread here is…Ego. Pride. Perhaps even jealousy. But who really knows what is inside of anyone else?

So, once we have determined and admitted that each of the players have been drinking from that same well (as we ALL have in one form or another), even if some are swigging more than others, we can hopefully see a bit more clearly as to a potential remedy to this problem.

Though a question arises first.

Does Green Bay truly want Rodgers back?

If so, the pathway to reuniting Rodgers and Green Bay seems fairly simple, though it would require a courage rarely seen in such a vicious game. It would also take humility. In this case, they are the same thing.

If they truly want Rodgers back, perhaps all it would take is for those who dashed his dreams by selecting his replacement (and also for those who have recently undermined him publicly) to make some form of public apology. Something like this:

“From a talent standpoint, we cannot say that we made a mistake by drafting Jordan Love. We believe he is an outstanding prospect. And yet, if I am to be completely honest, I now see the whole thing through a different lens; one where I acknowledge the undue pain I placed upon our current quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. And for that I deeply apologize. What is done is done, but I sincerely regret the wounds that I have contributed to, and I desire with all my heart that Aaron will grant me the benefit of the doubt and return to the team.”

Okay, okay, this doesn’t jive so well with our show and its title - “Game of Egos” - but it was only meant to last for a season anyway.

What Green Bay might not realize is that a heartfelt and conciliatory approach would more than likely do far more than smooth things over with Rodgers. It would also provide the benefit of bringing the team together, perhaps more tightly than ever.

The question could be asked, do they want to win or what?

When trapped within the game of egos we tend to lose sight of the human element, that of kindness and forgiveness which we all crave. If Green Bay could grasp this, and respond accordingly, the courage and humility displayed would add to their mystique, their stature. The average man and woman would admire them. Cheesehead Nation would rejoice. And the frozen tundra would begin to thaw.

So what’s to lose? Ah yes, a bit of pride.

And as for the media players mentioned, maybe it would be best to consider calling things as they are without allowing their own hurt feelings or interpretations of history to color their comments. Just a suggestion.

P.S. As they say, words are cheap. So Green Bay might consider backing up their words with a renegotiated contract that proves their fidelity. I reckon they can figure that out.

Picture attribution : All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons