Aaron Rodgers Got Exactly What He Wanted: Attention

Aaron Rodgers will return to the Green Bay Packers in 2022 according to Pat McAfee. This is the second time that Rodgers has decided to return to the Packers to play football since he told people he was done with the franchise.

What has changed in the last ten months that convinced Rodgers to come back not once, but twice? Well, nothing. General Manager Brian Gutekunst who Rodgers reportedly disliked so much that he threatened retirement if he was not fired, is still there generally managing the team.

Matt LaFleur, who the Packers did not ask for approval of before hiring back in 2019, is still the head coach. Rodgers criticized the decision to kick a late field goal in the Packers' NFC Championship Game loss to Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in January 2021. LaFleur and Rodgers led the Packers to 10 points in their Divisional Round loss to the 49ers earlier this year.

Jordan Love, the quarerback the Packers surprised Rodgers by drafting in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, is still on the roster. Rodgers was not thrilled that the pick was used on a backup quarterback instead of someone that could help them win immediately. Despite Rodgers coming back again and again, the Packers have not traded him for someone who might actually contribute.

Most confusingly, Aaron Rodgers, who apparently only returned to the Packers last season under the condition that he could leave before this season, is still there.

All Rodgers got was the exact same contracts he could have worked out without all the fuss. He could have quietly pondered his future with the organization a year ago, but instead he and his camp leaked tidbit after tidbit about how unhappy he was with Green Bay and how he was going to go host Jeopardy!. In February Sports Illustrated's Andrew Brandt said that Rodgers "sees himself as a lot more than a football player," yet here he is a month later being just that. Again.

It's almost like the only thing he ever really wanted was attention. Lots of attention. Which he was getting until the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos a couple hours later, effectively burying the news that Rodgers was boringly returning to the Packers so I'm just going to wrap this up because no one wants to talk about Rodgers now.