Yahoo Sports Report: Aaron Rodgers called Packers GM 'Jerry Krause' with teammates, told potential free agents he’d be gone in 2021
Almost daily, it seems like a new layer is unfurled in the battle between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. And the latest layer is amazing.
According to The Athletic's Bob McGinn, Rodgers has been mocking general manager Brian Gutekunst in group chats with his teammates. McGinn wrote:
According to sources, Rodgers has mocked Gutekunst in group chats with his teammates in Green Bay by referring to the GM as Jerry Krause. The late Krause, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls during their run of six NBA championships, was loathed by Michael Jordan for some personnel moves with which Jordan disagreed.
You've got to hand it to Rodgers for being so creative with his mocking. He's reportedly deeply upset with Gutekunst's personnel moves because Gutekunst hasn't been involving him, the franchise's biggest star and most important player. Michael Jordan hated Bulls GM Jerry Krause for a similar reason.
Of course, even though he was hated by Jordan, Krause put together six championship teams during a dynasty that hasn't since been matched in the NBA. Gutekunst has been GM of the Packers since 2018, so he's barely had time to start a run of success — though if the reports are correct, he's had plenty of time to alienate and anger the team's franchise quarterback.
Rodgers reportedly communicated with potential free agents
But wait, there's more Rodgers vs. Packers news Wednesday beyond Rodgers mocking his GM in texts with teammates. According to an NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Rodgers had communicated with potential Green Bay free agents as far back as last year, telling them that he didn't expect to be around in 2021.
"What I'm told from multiple sources is Aaron Rodgers was telling the Packers' prospective free agents basically 'before you make any decisions, I'm probably not going to be here.' To the point where he was telling them, I'm told, all the way back to the beginning of last season. Now that was in the months after the Packers had drafted Jordan Love."
Garafolo said that he doesn't know if Rodgers saying that factored into individual decisions to not sign with the Packers, or if anyone believed him when he said he was expecting to leave. He did note that Packers tackle David Bakhtiari, who is very close with Rodgers, signed a four-year contract extension in Nov. 2020, and that maybe Bakhtiari didn't take Rodgers seriously if he said he was leaving.
Are fans turning on Rodgers?
While Rodgers and the Packers engage in a fight through leaks and media statements, Green Bay fans are left to watch and draw their own conclusions. And the conclusions some of them are drawing aren't in Rodgers' favor.
Rodgers was booed by fans attending a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game on Tuesday night. The Timber Rattlers are a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Rodgers appeared in a commercial on the stadium screen. Some fans did not welcome his virtual presence.
Aaron Rodgers doing a commercial for Bergstrom Autos on the video board between innings, and I'm hearing some audible booing from the crowd.
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) May 5, 2021
This is a small sample size, and it doesn't seem like everyone there was booing. "Audible boos" aren't the same as "a cascade of boos" or "a torrent of boos." But it's a sign that some fans might not be on board with Rodgers reportedly threatening to hold out or even retire if the team's GM isn't fired.
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