Jordy Nelson Calls Out Packers Over Aaron Rodgers Contract Situation

Aaron Rodgers' future with the Green Bay Packers has been a storyline all offseason, even bigger than his adventures as a Jeopardy! host. He has acknowledged several times that his future with the team isn't really in his hands since a season-ending loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game. He will be on the team next year, that much is certain. After that? It's anybody's guess at this juncture.

A former teammate chimed in this week when Charles Woodson said things will get "nasty" between Rodgers and the organization before it's all said and done. Yesterday, it was Jordy Nelson's turn. Rodgers' favorite target with Green Bay appeared on the Pat McAfee Show to express his utter confusion about how the organization is treating Rodgers and the decision-making regarding the decision to not give him a contract extension.

Nelson is right to be confused and certainly not the only person outside the building baffled by this. The Packers could create a bunch of cap space by giving Rodgers an extension on his current deal that runs through 2023. They have not done so. It appears the organization is reluctant to commit to Rodgers past 2023 thanks to the presence of Jordan Love. They could give Rodgers a fake extension like the Saints did with Taysom Hill, where they "extend" him using void years so the team receives cap relief right now but doesn't actually commit any further than the current deal. But Rodgers probably doesn't want to do that because that's how you treat players like Taysom Hill, not perennial MVP candidates.

The other side of this, and what Rodgers probably has on his mind, is that the Packers have a potential out built into his current contract after the 2021 season. They could, if they wanted to, move on from the longtime signal-caller with only a $17.4 million dead cap hit one year from now. A contract extension would likely eliminate that. The fact that Green Bay appears to be more interested in hanging on to that contingency rather than giving Rodgers a raise and committing to him for another one or two years is the most damning aspect of the situation.

Rodgers is a generational quarterback and the Packers backed themselves into a corner by using a first-round pick (and more, since they traded up) on his replacement. Instead of admitting that as the mistake it clearly was after Rodgers had his best season in years, they're still trying to plan as if Rodgers will fall off and Love will suddenly become a crucial piece of the team. You can bet Rodgers sees it like that. Nothing about the situation suggests there will be a happy ending.