Is the role of a star quarterback to help set the course of his team’s personnel decisions? Does a player have that right?
That discussion has come about in the past few months with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ disappointment about the team not keeping wide receiver Jordy Nelson, and with the departure of quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt “without consulting me.”
Today, Rodgers made it clear that his job is about what’s on the field, regardless of the pain he might feel over the departure of a close friend he has made on the roster or coaching staff.
“I know my role, and that’s to play as well as I possibly can at quarterback,” Rodgers said at a news conference.
“There are decisions that are going to be made. From a personal standpoint, that’s the toughest part. You’re in this business for a long time. You start relationships with coaches, players. As you get older, and I knew this as a young player, the possibility of success to play a long time, I’ll probably outlive a close friends in this business because longevity offered to a quarterback is obviously greater than a guy who’s banging heads all the time or running all over the field. That’s the toughest part about the whole thing.”
But Rodgers says he understands those are team decisions.
“You just know your role and your responsibility, and you try to do that the best you can,” he says.
“They’re paying me to play quarterback to the best of my abilities. Their job descriptions are to handle those type of things. You just act accordingly in those situations.”
As for his contract negotiations, he says both sides have interest on completing a deal, but there isn’t really much breaking news right now.
“They’ve obviously made a number of statements over the offseason. My focus is here. I have a fantastic agent who takes care of anything associated with my contract. There’s just nothing to report right now.”
Rodgers’ current deal ends after the 2019 season, after which he becomes a free agent unless the Packers choose to use the franchise tag on him, which they can do for two consecutive seasons.
