Why The Green Bay Packers Will Regret Staying Married To Aaron Rodgers

Nostalgia is a powerful drug.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutenkunst is living proof of that.

It seems all Gutekunst has to do is close his eyes and he travels back to Feb. 6, 2011 — the last time Aaron Rodgers was truly special in the playoffs. That night in Dallas, Rodgers threw three touchdowns against the NFL’s best defense and led the Packers to a 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in the 45^th Super Bowl.

Despite more than a decade of postseason failures since that game, Gutekunst and the Packers opted to stay married to Rodgers this offseason. And if the past 11 years have shown us anything, it’s that Green Bay will eventually regret that choice.

Rodgers has won four Most Valuable Player awards since 2011. In the playoffs, though, he consistently morphs into the league’s Most Disappointing Player.

Rodgers and the Packers are just 7-9 in the postseason since winning Super Bowl XLV. They’ve lost at home four times. And they’re 0-4 in the playoffs against San Francisco, the team that bypassed Rodgers with the No. 1 pick in the 2005.

Rodgers was asked that night how disappointed he was the 49ers chose to draft quarterback Alex Smith instead of him.

“Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me,” he said.

Not quite.

Green Bay, which has won 13 regular season games each of the last three seasons, was in salary cap hell after it flamed out again in the 2021 playoffs.

The Packers could have kept their impressive roster together by trading Rodgers and gaining roughly $20 million of salary cap relief. As Seattle proved last week by landing two first round draft picks, two seconds and three players for quarterback Russell Wilson, the haul for an elite quarterback is massive.

Instead, Green Bay elected to bring back the band — even though that band will now be missing a guitarist and a bassist.

On Monday, the Packers released outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and versatile offensive lineman Billy Turner — a pair of moves that saved them about $19 million of salary cap room. Green Bay also restructured the contract of outside linebacker Preston Smith in a deal expected to free up between $8-9 million of cap room.

Even with those moves — and restructuring the contracts of David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones and Kenny Clark last month — Green Bay remains roughly $18.3 million over the cap. That means more moves are coming, as the Packers have until Wednesday to get below the NFL’s 2022 salary cap of $208.2 million.

After Green Bay suffered a dreadful 13-10 loss to San Francisco in the NFC Divisional playoffs in January, it seemed like the perfect time for Gutekunst to rip the Band-Aid off the Rodgers-era and start anew.

The 2021 Packers had arguably the best collection of talent around Rodgers since their Super Bowl championship team of 2010. And if Rodgers couldn’t get it done playing with an elite defense, two terrific running backs and one of the NFL’s top-three receivers, would he ever get Green Bay over the hump again?

Gutekunst, who drafted Jordan Love in the first round in 2020 to be his quarterback of the future, lost his nerve, though. And instead of giving Love a chance — or picking up a bridge quarterback in a Rodgers trade — Gutekunst’s fear of the unknown was too great for him to turn the page.

Now, Gutekunst will hitch his wagon to a quarterback that turns 39 next season and hasn’t gotten it done in January for more than a decade. For those quick to forget, let’s recap:

2011 — Rodgers won his first MVP award, led the Packers to a 15-1 regular season and set the NFL single season record for quarterback rating (122.5). In Green Bay’s first playoff game, though, Rodgers had a 78.5 passer rating, was completely outplayed by Eli Manning and the Packers suffered a devastating 37-20 home loss to the New York Giants.

2012-13 — Rodgers was outplayed both years by San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick and the Packers were eliminated in consecutive seasons by the 49ers.

2014 — Rodgers threw two interceptions, one touchdown and a had 55.8 passer rating in a 28-22 overtime loss to Seattle in the NFC title game. While Mike McCarthy’s coaching, special teams and a defense that faded all played a role in the loss, Rodgers looked nothing like the MVP he won that season.

“It’s a missed opportunity that I will probably think about the rest of my career,” Rodgers said afterwards.

2015 — Rodgers had a 77.9 passer rating and Green Bay lost at Arizona, 26-20, in overtime in the NFC Divisional playoffs.

2016 — Atlanta led, 24-0, at halftime of the NFC Championship Game as Rodgers had no touchdown passes, one interception and a 65.6 passer rating. The Falcons stretched their lead to 31-0 in the third quarter before Rodgers beefed up his numbers during garbage time of a 44-21 loss.

“Unfortunately a game like this comes down to the little details,” Rodgers said. “If you’re not on and you’re making little mistakes like that, it’s going to be tough to win.”

2019 — Rodgers threw two interceptions and fumbled three times (one lost) in a 37-20 loss to San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.

Much like Atlanta in 2016, Rodgers struggled in the first half when he had two turnovers, a 52.4 passer rating and threw for just 65 yards. Not surprisingly, the Packers dug themselves a 27-0 hole they never came close to escaping.

2020 — Tom Brady completely outplayed Rodgers early as Tampa Bay built a 28-10 lead in the NFC Championship Game. Rodgers rallied Green Bay within 31-23, then with the game on the line, completely lost his nerve.

On a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line with just more than 2 minutes left, Rodgers had a chance to run for touchdown that would have brought the Packers within a two-point conversion. He declined, though, and instead threw incomplete into double coverage.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur kicked a field goal on the next play and the Packers never got the ball back.

“I’m just pretty gutted,” Rodgers said afterwards.

2021 — For just the second time in 21 playoff games, Rodgers didn’t throw a touchdown pass. The Packers also managed just three points in their final nine drives and were stunned by a Jimmy Garoppolo-led San Francisco team, 13-10, in the divisional playoffs.

“I didn’t have a great night tonight,” Rodgers admitted afterwards.

Truthfully, Rodgers hasn’t had many great postseason nights since that 45^th Super Bowl when he threw three touchdowns. Afterwards, many predicted Green Bay would be the NFL’s next dynasty. Instead, it’s been one heartbreak after another.

Still, it seems as though Gutekunst can’t get Super Bowl XLV out of his head, even though he’s watched his quarterback and his football team fail time and time again for more than a decade.

Turning the page takes courage, a quality currently missing in Green Bay.

So in the next 24 hours, the Packers will make more cuts and kick more money down the road, leading to salary cap nightmares for years to come.

Then they’ll hit rewind on the same tired movie they’ve been showing their fans since 2011 — even though by now, everyone knows the ending.