Packers' Mark Murphy Says Team Brass All Want Aaron Rodgers to Return Next Season

There is a significant possibility Aaron Rodgers will be playing football elsewhere in 2022. However, the Green Bay Packers brass hopes he decides to return next season to continue his historic career with the franchise.

Packers President Mark Murphy said in his monthly column:

"A key factor will be whether Aaron Rodgers comes back for the 2022 season. Matt, Brian, executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back. He is likely to win his fourth league MVP, is the unquestioned leader of our team and is still playing at a high level at 38."

Murphy's comments come after Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said during his season-ending press conference following a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round that he wanted Rodgers to remain in Green Bay "to the day he decides to retire."

Rodgers also said after that loss he would meet with LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst to discuss the future of the team before stepping away to determine his future:

"There's obviously a lot of decisions to be made. There's a lot of players whose futures are up in the air, so definitely will be interesting to see which way some of those decisions will go. I'll have the conversations with Brian in the next week or so and get a little bit more clarity and think about my own future and how much longer I want to keep doing this."

Rodgers' future in Green Bay has been in question since before he held out of the Packers' 2021 offseason workouts. NBC Sports' Peter King said in an interview with WEEI's Dale and Keefe in April that Rodgers was upset that the franchise didn't address the wide receiver position in the 2020 draft. Green Bay instead drafted quarterback Jordan Love.

If Rodgers was unhappy with those types of personnel decisions, he could be even more upset this offseason. The Packers are projected to be $50.8 million over the salary cap, per Over the Cap, and that certainly won't be enough to retain both Rodgers and some of the other team's free agents, including Davante Adams.

It's hard to imagine the Packers clearing enough cap space, retaining players and bringing in players that Rodgers will like.

Regardless, bringing Rodgers back for another season appears to be Green Bay's priority, so the team will try to find a way to make something work.

The three-time MVP is coming off yet another MVP-worthy season, having led the NFL in passer rating and touchdown percentage. He completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns against just four interceptions. It was his fourth straight season passing for more than 4,000 yards.

If Rodgers ends up playing elsewhere in 2022, the Packers will be forced to turn to Love, who has started just one game in his NFL career.