GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy says he believes the uncertainty surrounding MVP Aaron Rodgers’ future has divided the team’s fan base.
“The emails and letters that I’ve received reflect this fact,” Murphy said in a monthly column on the Packers’ website in which he answers questions from fans.
Rodgers hasn’t participated in the Packers’ voluntary organized team activities, a change from his usual offseason routine. The Packers begin their mandatory minicamp Tuesday.
ESPN reported in the hours leading up to the draft that Rodgers doesn’t want to return to Green Bay, where the three-time MVP has spent his entire career.
“We remain committed to resolving things with Aaron and want him to be our quarterback in 2021 and beyond,” Murphy said as he reiterated comments he’d made in a column a month earlier. “We are working to resolve the situation and realize that the less both sides say publicly, the better.”
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Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst have both said they want Rodgers back. Gutekunst has said he won’t trade Rodgers, who has three years left on his contract.
In his column, Murphy also replied to a letter critical of Gutekunst by expressing support for the general manager.
“I must tell you that I have tremendous confidence in Brian Gutekunst,” Murphy said. “In his relatively short tenure as our GM, he has completely turned around the fortunes of our team.”
Rodgers detailed his frustrations with the organization while remaining noncommittal about his future in an ESPN interview that aired May 24.
“I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization,” Rodgers said at the time. “History is important, the legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. People make an organization. People make a business, and sometimes that gets forgotten. Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people, not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It’s built by the people.”
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