By most accounts, the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers is broken beyond repair. Once reports surfaced on the day of the opening round of the NFL Draft that noted the reigning MVP has told those within the organization that he doesn't want to return, things went nuclear and more information about this potential divorce is coming into the limelight. While there did seem to be frustration between Rodgers and the Packers dating back to their selection of Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft, things have hit a fever pitch and the veteran quarterback reportedly won't even entertain a reconciliation unless GM Brian Gutekunst is fired.
With that not being a guarantee, there's a chance these two sides part ways at some point which has various other club's now keeping a very close eye on this situation. Some -- including the Packers organization -- would argue a little too close of an eye.
According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, Green Bay is upset that teams may have contacted Rodgers to gauge whether or not he'd be interested in playing for them if they ultimately made a push to acquire him. The San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos are believed to be some of the teams that the Packers are miffed at as it relates to possible tampering.
Rodgers doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract, so he doesn't necessarily control his destination as the Packers could ship him to whichever organization they can strike the best deal with if that's the road they ultimately go down. Unless Green Bay had given him permission to seek a trade -- which it doesn't appear they have -- it is against NFL rules for a team to contact the player.
San Francisco and Denver have been two clubs that have been popular destinations when talking about the possibility of Rodgers being moved along with the Las Vegas Raiders, so it would make sense for the Packers to think some nefarious back-door talks have taken place. Prior to selecting Trey Lance at No. 3 overall, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan even confirmed on Monday that he called his former assistant coach and current Packers coach Matt LaFleur to see if Rodgers was in fact available once trade speculation ran rampant. Meanwhile, the Broncos and Raiders were immediately identified as two destinations on Rodgers' reported wish list.
Demovsky adds that no tampering charges have actually been filed to the NFL by the Packers with tampering being incredibly difficult to prove, which they know all too well about after filing charges against the Vikings in 2008 for allegedly tampering with Brett Favre.
