Report: Aaron Rodgers ‘disgruntled’ in Green Bay; 49ers reach out to Packers about trade

The Seahawks don’t have a pick in the Thursday night’s first round of the NFL draft.

But one of their NFC West rivals — the San Francisco 49ers — stand at the focal point of the draft.

The 49ers have the third pick after Jacksonville (expected to take Trevor Lawrence) and the Jets (expected to take Zach Wilson).

The 49ers’ pick, meanwhile, is shrouded in mystery, and what they end up doing will shape the rest of the top of the draft.

What San Francisco may do got only a little more muddled Thursday when a report surfaced from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network that “The #49ers reached out to the #Packers on Wednesday about trading for Aaron Rodgers, but no formal offer was made and a source said there is a “zero percent chance” that Green Bay deals the reigning NFL MVP.”

That caused some to question what the 49ers have in mind for the third pick after having made a big trade with Miami to move up. The thought then was that the 49ers had their eyes set on a specific QB — Mac Jones or Trey Lance. 

Would an attempt to get the 37-year-old Rodgers mean the 49ers are unsure of what they want at QB and unclear if either Lance or Jones — or maybe Justin Fields — isn’t really the long-term answer at QB?

Or, maybe, the 49ers were just trying to take advantage of what may be a somewhat combustible situation in Green Bay.

Shortly after Pelissero’s report came another from Adam Schefter of ESPN that Rodgers may want out of Green Bay.

Schefter tweeted at 12:19 p.m.: “Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is so disgruntled with the Green Bay Packers that he has told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team, league and team sources told ESPN on Thursday.”

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst released a statement shortly after Schefter’s tweet:

“As we’ve stated since the season ended, we are committed to Aaron in 2021 and beyond. Aaron has been a vital part of our success and we look forward to competing for another championship with him leading our team.”