Aaron Rodgers to Stay at the Packers for 2021

Aaron Rodgers is now expected to stay at the Green Bay Packers for the 2021 NFL season, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

The quarterback has reportedly told those close to him that he will be staying in Green Bay for at least one more season, while Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst says he is "hopeful" for a positive outcome.

The news looks to signal the beginning of the end of a months-long saga involving Rodgers' future as he looked to move away from Green Bay due to behind-the-scenes tensions.

Such tensions were recently brought into the spotlight by the Packers' drafting of quarterback of Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, a decision which Rodgers was displeased with as he had been hoping to be provided with more offensive support for the upcoming season in the shape of a wide receiver or tight end.

After losing the NFC Championship Game to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January, Rodgers voiced his intentions to leave the Packers, having spent his entire NFL career in Green Bay since being drafted 21st overall by the franchise in 2005.

The University of California alum has won the NFL Most Valuable Player award twice, the most recent coming for his 48-touchdown season in 2020 which saw the Packers go 13-3 and fall one game short of the Super Bowl.

Rodgers helped lead the Packers to Super Bowl victory in 2011 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the fourth in the franchise's history and their first since 1997.

However, a failure to return to the Super Bowl since as well as a fractured relationship with Head Coach Matt LaFleur and a belief by Rodgers that he has been disrespected by the Green Bay ownership in recent years culminated in Rodgers' desire to part ways with the franchise. 

A number of franchises had been interested in signing Rodgers via a trade, with the Denver Broncos being the most strongly linked, but this most recent development will likely put an end to rumours surrounding the 37-year-old for the time being.

It is still unknown whether Rodgers has committed his future to the Packers beyond this season, after it was reported he had rejected a two-year contract extension earlier this week that would have made him the highest-paid player in the league, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The news will come as a relief to Packers fans who will now hope the franchise can turn their attention to ending a 10-year Super Bowl drought after reaching four Conference Championships games in the last seven years.

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