Aaron Rodgers trusts that Packers brass will ‘be in the mix’ on certain players ahead of trade deadline

A seat at the table was what Aaron Rodgers was hoping to have during the later stages of his time with the Packers. Rodgers’ wish has been granted, as the reigning two-time league MVP has been given more input on Packers’ personnel decisions since the start of the 2021 season. 

“Brian and I have a real good relationship,” Rodgers said of Packers GM Brian Gutekunst during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfree Show. “We communicate often about a number of different things, not just personnel stuff, but also the team and direction, mindset and energy and how everybody’s kind of fitting together.” 

Rodgers said that he has had conversations with Green Bay’s brass ahead of the trade deadline (Nov. 1). The Packers will likely be players at the deadline after a disappointing start to the season. The Packers are 3-3 following this past Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets. 

“I trust that they’ll be in the mix on certain guys that they like,” Rodgers said. “As always, it comes down to need price cost of those certain players, but I know Brian’s going to do what’s best for our football team and if he feels like adding a guy or two to the mix, then I’m sure he’s going to try and make that happen.”

Receiver will likely be one of the areas the Packers will look to strengthen at the deadline, especially with veteran Randall Cobb dealing with an injury. Rest assured that Green Bay — like most other NFL teams looking to deal before the deadline — will reach out to the Panthers about a possible trade after Carolina dealt wideout Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals this week. Carolina has several promising young wideouts on its roster, including DJ Moore and Terrace Marshall Jr. 

Denver could be another option given the Broncos‘ disappointing start to the 2022 season. For the right price, the Broncos may be willing to part with KJ Hamler, a third-year wideout who has just seven targets in five games. 

While it looks like they will look to add pieces to their roster before the deadline, the Packers haven’t fully utilized one of the best players currently on their team. Running back Aaron Jones, a 2020 Pro Bowler who signed a hefty extension last offseason, had just 89 touches during the season’s first six games. 

“Every time that there’s a [loss] … there’s always going to be narratives that come out of it,” Rodgers said. “An easy one for us is we’ve got to get the ball to [Jones] more, and it’s true. When he touches the ball, good things happen. He breaks tackles. He’s probably our most elusive guy with the football in his hands. 

“He’s a dynamic player. And it’s not like we’re not trying, we have a lot of plays in the plan for him. We call certain passes just for him. We have runs designed to get him to football. We have an awesome running back in AJ Dillon as well that we’re trying to get the ball to. There’s a lot of things that can dictate how much we get him the ball.”