Aaron Rodgers lobbying Packers to keep Charles Woodson
Defensive back Charles Woodson will turn 37 early next season, he's due $10 million and he's coming off a season in which he missed nine games with a broken collarbone.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers called Woodson “a core guy” the team needs to bring back. Rodgers doesn't go out of his way to publicly lobby for personnel moves too often.
“I think it's got to be one of the top priorities,” Rodgers said during his weekly radio show on ESPN Wisconsin with reporter Jason Wilde. “I'm not sure what that's going to look like, but I know he is under contract and that he is an important part of our football team, and I think he adds a lot. He is still playing at a really high level.
"He's obviously very intelligent and sets a good example on preparation. He's always watching film. He did a great job, especially, with guys like Sam Shields and Tramon [Williams], a few years back, when he kind of took them under his wing. Now Tramon is carrying on that tradition as a top-caliber player.
“Having his presence around the locker room really helps set an example for the young guys and helps me out as far as being a leader.”
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Woodson played safety in the base 3-4 defense and slot corner in the nickel package. On Oct. 21 in St. Louis, he broke his collarbone, the same one he broke during Super Bowl XLV in February 2011.
He missed the rest of the regular season but returned for the playoffs, making 12 tackles and defending two passes in two games. In seven regular-season games, he had 38 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception and five passes defended.
Rodgers was asked on the radio show if he thought Woodson would take a pay cut to stay in Green Bay.
“I really don't like talking for other players, especially when money is involved,” Rodgers said. “That gets a little dicey. That is something they'll have to work out. But I've said this before about other players: I don't think you get better by taking from the whole, taking a core guy. And I think he is a core guy.”
According to Wilde, Woodson said he definitely planned to play in 2013 and expects to be with the Packers. The team had not discussed a contract restructuring with Woodson as of late in the season.
Woodson won the 2009 AP Defensive Player of the Year award and has been named to eight Pro Bowls.
The Packers have several big offseason decisions to make, on players including wideout Greg Jennings, tight end Jermichael Finley and linebacker A.J. Hawk.
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