After Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Davante Adams simultaneously posted pictures from 2020’s hit documentary “The Last Dance” on their Instagram stories earlier this week, rumors swirled about the message the combo was trying to communicate.
It doesn’t seem like that move was an accident, and it could very well signal that the Packers team as we know might only have one final season left together to bring the Lombardi trophy back home.
Rodgers and Adams are hopeful that their version of the story will end in exactly the same way that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen’s did in the late 1990s.
The Packers have been through a ton of offseason turmoil since their season ended with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
Winning can help cure all hard feelings, but only one team is truly content in mid-February.
With that in mind, let’s identify three current Green Bay players who will most likely not return to the team after the 2021 season.
3. Aaron Rodgers
Having listened to Rodgers’ press conference on Wednesday, he did not sound like a person whose bitter feelings towards the organization can be assuaged.
He spoke about the lack of respect he felt from the front office with their disinterest in consulting him about matters that would shape the roster.
Rodgers reiterated many times that money was not at the root of his displeasure; it was the notion that Green Bay management did not utilize him as a resource to recruit talent.
Rodgers’ commentary indicated that there’s nothing the organization can do now to repair their missteps in prior seasons, which leaves the relationship at a virtual dead end.
Short of winning the Super Bowl this year and the future Hall of Famer singing kumbaya with general manager Brian Gutekunst, Rodgers appears destined to play one final season in Wisconsin before calling it a career, or playing elsewhere.
2. Davante Adams
Perhaps the most interested observer in the entire Rodgers saga is Adams.
After all, his livelihood and production is literally tied to the person who’s thrown him the ball so well for the past seven seasons.
Now that Rodgers will make his return to the team for at least one more season, Adams should have another banner year with regards to production.
However, what happens to him in 2022?
Adams and the Packers had been in conversation regarding an extension for several months, but those talks have ceased in recent days.
The superstar wide receiver certainly has a strong case to be made to be the highest compensated at his position, but in light of Rodgers’ comments, will that be enough?
Adams must now be wondering whether his voice will be heard as a franchise mainstay if he decides to remain with the team for the majority of his career.
This uncertainty might cause Adams to leave Green Bay the moment Rodgers does.
🤷🏾♂️ https://t.co/gOgTuOe4qo
— Davante Adams (@tae15adams) July 26, 2021
1. Preston Smith
One of the players Rodgers mentioned by name during his Wednesday press conference was linebacker Preston Smith.
Dang @PrestonSmith94‼️That was really 2 years ago🤦🏽♂️#SmithBros pic.twitter.com/hnKI56zx9J
— Za'Darius Smith (@zadariussmith) July 28, 2021
The legendary quarterback addressed the level of influence he has not just in Green Bay, but in NFL circles in general.
He invoked Smith’s name as an example of a player who he spoke with before he decided to sign with the Packers before the 2019 season.
While his production dipped last season, Smith has been an important part of Green Bay’s defense in the past two seasons.
Based on the way Rodgers made it seem, it sounded like Smith joined the team in order to play with a team that was ready to compete for a Super Bowl right now.
Like Adams’, Smith’s future in Green Bay might not last a minute longer than Rodgers, and would be a prime candidate to leave after this season when his contract ends.
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