On Wednesday night, a new era of the NFL will begin, with the league hosting a special "Schedule Release '21" television show to unveil the 17-game regular season schedules for all 32 teams.
But the scheduling process has been far from smooth for the league office, since it remains unclear whether the Green Bay Packers will actually have Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback come September.
"I don't know what goes on with the schedule-making process or anything like that. It seems more complicated than it should be," NFL Network analyst Adam Rank told The DA Show on Monday. "But I don't know anything about it. The Packers, I would assume, were going to be on a number of primetime games. Jordan Love, do you want that Packers team on Thursday Night Football or Monday Night Football? Sunday night? So, I think this is causing a little bit of a problem."
The Packers have remained adamantly opposed to the notion of trading away Rodgers, who led the franchise to an NFC title game appearance and won his third league MVP award in 2020. But, the chances of an acrimonious divorce appear to be rather strong.
According to a report from ESPN's Dianna Russini last Tuesday, there's a growing belief around the league that Rodgers isn't going to play for Green Bay in 2021, and that the Denver Broncos are the favorite to acquire him, should he be made available in the coming months. This news from Russini came roughly four days after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Rodgers is seriously considering retirement as an option unless the complex situation with the Packers is "repaired to his liking."
"I just think he's looking at quarterback situations," Rank said. "I think the dream scenario for him was going to the 49ers on draft night, because that would've made the NFC West very interesting, obviously. And I think the Packers were smart enough not to do that. Why give an NFC rival Aaron Rodgers? But, AFC, it just feels like Denver would be the convenient thing, that more than anything. I don't think it's a dream scenario. He's not watching [Broncos receiver] Jerry Jeudy film being like, 'I've got to go play with this guy.' But he's just thinking of the situation that needs a quarterback."
In 2020, Rodgers completed a career-high 70.7-percent of his passes for 4,299 yards with 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions. According to Spotrac.com, the 37-year-old has three years remaining on his contract with Green Bay, and his $37.2 million cap hit this upcoming season is expected to lead the entire league.
The entire conversation between Rank and DA can be accessed in the video and audio players above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
