The beautiful city of Phoenix Arizona is home to the 2023 NFL meetings, taking place as I write this piece (March 26 -29). The annual NFL league meeting gathers the owners, executives, coaches, and other officials from all 32 NFL teams. It usually takes place in late March or early April, and its primary purpose is to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the league’s rules and policies. But for fans there’s another aspect to look forward to, seeing team general managers and owners talk about the state of the team and answering the burning hot topic questions. For Packers fans, there are plenty of things that needed clarification, luckily they seemed to get it.
Brian Gutekunst is the house-grown General Manager of the Packers and is a man who has faced many tough decisions and been asked many tough questions since his promotion in 2018. During the league meetings, he had a lot he needed to get off his chest, particularly concerning Aaron Rodgers. When Rodgers went on the Pat Mcafee show after his darkness retreat he had plenty to say about the dissolving of his relationship with the Packers front office leading to his request to trade to the New York Jets, inferring a lot on Gutekunst’s character and handling of the future Hall of Famers career. Gutekunst accepted the first opportunity to tell his side:
“It’s certainly not true (in regards to the accusation that the Packers shopped Rodgers behind his back)… after the season we had a good conversation, we were going to have follow-up conversations, and our inability to reach him…I had to do my job…I was looking forward to those conversations (to find where Rodgers fits with the team) and those never transpired”
If we believe his telling of the experience, then it’s hard to blame the Packers to accept calls for trade in this limbo period, knowing Rodgers could choose to leave any day he decides to respond. Gutekunst talks about the trade with the jets, saying the talks have been consistent, that they do not demand a first but Aaron Rodgers is a ‘Premiere’ player and they expect fair compensation whether it be picks or players. Including a funny moment where he was asked if he wants the 13th pick and his quick and joking response,” I want all the picks.”
A turn comes in this media moment when a very leading question gets posed to Gutekunst, and he bites. “Not a lot of players that go on (Pat Mcafee show)… and smear an organization over and over the way he (Aaron Rodgers) has… does that factor into the decision to move on at all”
This is a good question, but framing Arod as a villain is a particular choice from the reporter, and instead of shutting it down or avoiding the question Brian Gutekunst takes a slick and subtle dig at Rodgers,” Certainly, whenever a player may have issues you’d prefer they talk to you directly and not do it to the media. But that is not necessarily the way he goes about it.” Letting everyone know how he feels about Arods actions, in a short turnaround they bridge into a praising of Jordan Love. “Jordan’s been put into some tough situations, just like Aaron was way back in his time. I think it’s really a credit to Jordan, how he’s handled that, and how professional he’s been through this… we’ve been in kind of constant communication.” Connecting the two players by mentioning Rodgers and then praising Love for communication after bashing Rodgers for the lack thereof is done on purpose. He is calling Aaron unprofessional virtually outright, and in a way telling him to act his age. I don’t think anything Gutekunst said was out of pocket or out of line but it is not every day you see general managers tell the media that a legendary quarterback is unprofessional. That’s why I highlighted this exchange, but here are some other side notes and takeaways from the 2023 league meetings useful for Packers fans.
Further Takeaways
Brian Gutekunst had another powerful quote concerning David Bakhtiari, highlighting his importance to the team and his bounce back from his injury.
“Dave’s been through a couple years of real tough struggles, but when he played for us last year, we were a different offensive line, a different team,” the GM said. “He really was impactful when he was able to go. I’m really hopeful that he’s beyond the injury thing. I think he really got into a nice groove of how to get into the week of practice to get to the games. Left tackles don’t grow on trees. He’s still playing at a very, very high level. So we’re excited to get him back.”
Any ideas of Bakhtiari off to the Jets with his friend Rodgers should be put to rest with the allegiance shown here.
LaFleur:
- Looking for a veteran backup for Love, nothing immanent but expected.
- Rasul Douglas will take snaps at safety but it is understood he is better on the outside corners and that will be his main focus
- Nixon will have “every opportunity to lock down” his position in the nickel
- Bisaccia’s promotion is the least the Packers could do, his impact is huge and he deserves a spot at the head coach table.“ I just can’t say enough great things about him. Somebody, if given the opportunity, I think they’d hit the lotto with this guy.”
Mark Murphy:
- Player safety has been the number one concern, looking into hip drop tackle.
- Looking forward to Jordan Love sees parallels to Aaron Rodgers at this point in his career
