As badly as Aaron Rodgers probably wanted to add a playmaker before Tuesday’s deadline, the Green Bay Packers quarterback said he understood the delicate balance for general manager Brain Gutekunst between aggressively targeting a player and not overpaying on a deal at the deadline.
“Obviously, the compensation for whatever players that we were going after, it just didn’t make sense,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “So I trust Brian, and we had some good conversations. I know we were in on some things and it obviously just didn’t pan out.”
Several reports indicated the Packers were in on 24-year-old wide receiver Chase Claypool, who eventually landed with the Bears in a trade that sent Chicago’s second-round pick in 2023 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s unclear who else the Packers were targeting before the deadline. Rodgers believed the team liked several possible options. Regardless, no trade was completed.
“I know we were in on some guys, and we liked a few, it just didn’t work out.”
The Packers, stuck at 3-5 after four straight losses, will have to improve internally. Rodgers said guys getting healthy and the rest of the offense making incremental improvements could create the necessary ingredients of a run over the final nine games of the 2022 season.
“We need our guys to play a tick higher, all of us,” Rodgers said.
Health is a recurring issue. Allen Lazard just returned to practice on Wednesday. Randall Cobb will be on injured reserve for a few more weeks. Christian Watson is in the league’s concussion protocol. And the Packers hope David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins are trending in the right direction long-term.
Rodgers said the Packers haven’t had their preferred 11 starters on offense for long stretches this season.
Would an addition at the deadline have created a spark?
Rodgers said Gutekunst just didn’t find the right value.
“Brian didn’t think that whatever was out there was worth whatever was required to give up,” Rodgers said. “That just sent a message to us that we have to play with the guys we’ve got and win with the guys we’ve got. There’s still confidence in the guys in the locker room.”
Of note, the Packers also didn’t become sellers at the deadline.
“That’s a really important point to make,” Rodgers said. “The organization believes we have the right guys in place to win. There’s no tanking, no rebuilding. This is the team expected to get the job done.”