Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will play on “Sunday Night Football” against the 49ers, the team that reportedly was the favorite to land the longtime Green Bay quarterback while he mulled over his future during the offseason.
NFL Network reported that San Francisco was Rodgers’ top destination amid his recent frustrations with the Packers’ front office. Rodgers, a Northern California native, wanted the 49ers to draft him in 2005. The team he grew up supporting, which possessed the No. 1 overall pick in that draft, took quarterback Alex Smith out of Utah instead.
The report details how when the 49ers made their call to Matt LaFleur, the Packers coach immediately shut the door on any possible trade. This was before San Francisco traded up to No. 3 pick to take North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL draft, sending the No. 12 pick to the Dolphins, who then traded it to the Eagles.
Rodgers was asked this week if he thought the 49ers would trade for him.
“There were points where I thought anything was possible,” Rodgers told reporters. “Definitely. But not a strong possibility.”
The 49ers weren’t the only team interested in Rodgers, according to NFL Network. Once the Niners drafted Lance, the Broncos became an interested party and would’ve offered up several prime draft picks to land Rodgers.
Rodgers, 37, signed his renegotiated contract with the Packers in July. Among the concessions in the new contract, the 2023 in his original deal was voided to make 2022 his final year. Rodgers’ salary-charge for this season also dropped to $27,573,568 – roughly $10 million less than it was previously.