Aaron Rodgers Rumors: Packers 'Possibly' Open to Restructure or New Contract

The Green Bay Packers could be open to restructuring Aaron Rodgers' contract, according to ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

On Wednesday, Demovsky reported Rodgers' $6.8 million roster bonus went into effect last week, thus eliminating the possibility of turning that into a signing bonus. Still, the Packers have avenues through which they could amend his deal to provide some salary-cap relief.

Demovsky also spoke to a source who said a contract restructure or even an extension is "possibly" in the works.

He provided another update on the situation on ESPN's Get Up.

Of course, this is a two-way street since Rodgers would likely need to sign off on amending his deal.

"Multiple league sources said they believe Rodgers wants assurances that he will be Green Bay's quarterback beyond just the 2021 season and that he won't be a 'lame-duck' quarterback," Demovsky wrote.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted on Good Morning Football that the Packers could have done a "simple restructure" that wouldn't have required Rodgers' approval, but it's "clearly" not what they're working toward:

Following Green Bay's decision to trade up and select Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft, things have remained pretty harmonious within the team—at least from outside appearances. The Packers won 13 games and reached the NFC title game, while Rodgers collected his third MVP.

Sooner or later, the rubber meets the road.

The Packers presumably don't want Love to wind up like Jimmy Garoppolo, who was supposed to be Tom Brady's successor but got traded when it became clear Brady wasn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

With that in mind, Green Bay may not want to sacrifice the flexibility they have in terms of moving off Rodgers down the line.

The nine-time Pro Bowler is signed through 2023. If the team wants to trade him next offseason, it could save $22.6 million while absorbing $17.2 million in dead money, per Spotrac. By trading him after June 1, the dead money would be spread across two years ($14.4 million in 2022 and $2.9 million in 2023), and the cap savings would climb to $25.5 million.

Right now, it's difficult to imagine why the Packers would want to part ways with one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history. But it's equally difficult to predict how 2021 will unfold with regard to the Rodgers/Love dynamic.