In almost the smallest of margins, the crazy draft-weekend saga between the Packers and All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers does involve the Bills.
It has long been reported that Rodgers is none to happy with his employer. At the 2020 NFL draft, the Packers were in need of additional playmakers on offense and they didn’t go that route with their first-round pick.
That sparked where we are now. The Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love instead. Rodgers then only went out and won the MVP Award (edging out Bills QB Josh Allen who finished second in voting) and now he won’t restructure his contract with the team.
So that begs the question, aka why you’re here. What do the Bills have to do with this?
Well the Bills didn’t stir the pot at all, but one player they currently have under contract does play a part. That guy is wide receiver Jake Kumerow.
Kumerow was a local DIII product from Wisconsin-Whitewater. He was a bit of a fan favorite with the Packers and Rodgers himself liked him. In fact, the QB praised Kumerow in an interview and the next day, he was cut.
As Packers Wire explains, a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says that the Packers cutting Kumerow, who then went on to be signed by the Bills, might have been the final straw:
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Packers releasing receiver Jake Kumerow before the season last year “drove Rodgers nuts” and was “described as a little bit of a death knell in the relationship” between the quarterback and decision-makers in the organization.
As of now, the Packers and Rodgers are in a stalemate. Rodgers is said to want to leave. The team doesn’t want to trade him.
Packers Wire has all your deeper coverage on that ongoing saga, but the Bills… were minimally involved here. Kumerow was signed again by the Bills at the end of the 2020 season via a reserve/futures contract.
In between there, the Bills did try to sneak Kumerow on the practice squad during the season but failed as he was claimed by the Saints. The Bills later got him back.
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