The Green Bay Packers have been adamant in their opposition to trade veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but this stance hasn't dampened other teams' hopes of negotiating a deal.
According to a recent report from NFL Network's James Palmer, the Denver Broncos are optimistic that they can reach a deal with Green Bay for Rodgers, and view the situation as a "real possibility," should the reigning league MVP be made available in the coming weeks or months.
But, again, what are the chances that Rodgers plays for another team this upcoming season? Palmer joined The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday to share his own prediction.
"I think it's well below 50-percent. I would almost put it at like 30-percent, 20-percent," Palmer said. "Because if [Rodgers and the Packers] are talking to get something done, that means they're at least communicating. I think that somewhat gives it hope of his return. James Jones, who is not just a former teammate of Aaron Rodgers, but is also a close friend, believes it is fixable and salvageable. We know the Packers are trying to do some things to make up for probably -- we all could assume -- some situations, in terms of communication. And handling Aaron Rodgers in the past probably wasn't up to snuff with the guy who probably deserved a little bit more, in terms of how you were handling him and how you were handling this transition.
"It's all about how you were going to pass the torch. They had to do it one time, and it didn't go great, really. Aaron was Jordan Love, and Brett Favre was there. And so, I just think there is still the aspect that you can massage some of these things and you can make things a little bit different, in terms of guaranteed contracts. Money always talks, in a sense, but also, how you handle the way this goes moving forward...
"Nobody wants to be pushed out of the building, especially if you are the MVP of the league and showing up every day with your replacement sitting next to you. That's not a feeling anyone wants, especially when you're as good as Aaron Rodgers. We've seen really every quarterback not handle this well, who's been in this situation. I think Aaron does deserve a little bit different treatment, and maybe the Packers can do that and massage that as part of his deal."
Last season, Rodgers completed a career-high 70.7-percent of his passes for 4,299 yards with 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also set three NFL records, which included the most games with a passer rating over 120.0 in a season (10) and the most games with three-plus touchdowns and no picks in a season (9).
According to Spotrac.com, Rodgers has three years remaining on his contract with Green Bay, and his cap hit of $37.2 million this upcoming season is expected to lead the league.
The entire NFL conversation between Palmer and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.