Former Teammate Expects Aaron Rodgers To Play For The Green Bay Packers In 2022

‘The Last Dance’ has been a season-long theme for Aaron Rodgers and the 2021 Green Bay Packers.

After an offseason littered with drama and commotion, many expected this to be Rodgers’ final season with the Packers. And that very well could still be the case.

John Kuhn, a former Green Bay fullback and close friend of Rodgers, feels differently though. During an interview with CBS Sports Radio Thursday night, Kuhn said he expects Rodgers to be back in Green Bay in 2022.

“I feel like this year has been very good for him,” said Kuhn, who now hosts a daily radio show in Wisconsin. “I’ve never seen him as happy and as joyful and really enjoying the game as much as he has this year. So with all that said … I just don’t see a situation where Aaron Rodgers actually leaves Green Bay.

“You can never say 100% with Aaron Rodgers. But I’m going to say I feel pretty confident.”

The Packers (13-4) host the San Francisco 49ers (11-7) in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday at 7:15 p.m. If Green Bay loses, it could very well be Rodgers’ final game as a Packer.

It certainly has lined up that way since last spring.

Five hours before the NFL Draft on April 29, word leaked that Rodgers didn’t want to ever play for Green Bay again.

The Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft to be their quarterback of the future, and Rodgers was furious that the team never communicated their plans with him. Rodgers was also livid that the Packers — and general manager Brian Gutekunst — didn’t give him a voice in personnel decisions.

During a tumultuous offseason, Pro Football Talk reported that, “(Rodgers) doesn’t like anyone in the front office for a variety of reasons.” The Athletic reported that Rodgers referred to Gutekunst as “Jerry Krause” — the man who built and tore down the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 1990s — in group chats with teammates.

NFL Media also reported that Rodgers was telling Green Bay’s prospective free agents “before you make any decisions, I’m probably not gonna be there.”

Rodgers skipped the entire offseason program, but returned to the team for the start of training camp when the Packers made concessions such as voiding the final year of his contract (2023) and trading for wideout/pal Randall Cobb.

Rodgers proceeded to have an MVP-caliber season, and according to Kuhn, mended fences with Gutekunst along the way.

“I would say it’s become a mutual friendship between the two,” Kuhn said. “And it’s very clear that they have a friendship now when before it may have just been considered professional. Now the two of them can more see eye to eye.”

Whether that’s enough for Rodgers to return in 2022 remains to be seen.

According to overthecap.com, Green Bay has just 39 players under contract for next season and is already $41.327 million over the projected salary cap. Rodgers carries a cap number of $46.8 million, and unloading that contract would be the Packers’ easiest way to escape salary cap hell.

Kuhn doesn’t think that will happen, though.

“He has fully embraced coming back (in 2021),” Kuhn said. “He did that Day 1 when he came back for training camp. And I’m telling you, he’s enjoying it this year. He’s been embracing the moment … I think he truly embraces the fact that Green Bay is in it for him. And whether he thought that before or not, that is up for debate. But I can’t help but think that Aaron Rodgers is really happy with the way that management and the rest of the organization has treated him up here in Green Bay.”