(AUDACY) Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers' reported trade demand not only put pressure on the organization but also the NFL's schedule makers.
The NFL released its full schedule last week, with the Packers garnering five primetime games during the 2021 season — as well as the first four games on four different networks — despite the uncertainty surrounding Rodgers' future.
NFL senior vice president of broadcasting Howard Katz recently told Peter King of NBC Sports that the Rodgers drama had the league "a little nervous" and that he had to make a few calls himself to get some inside info, but he gained little clarity.
Two of the Packers' five primetime games are on NBC — Week 14 against the Bears and Week 17 against the Vikings — and both of those are late enough in the season that they could be flexed out, if necessary. The Packers also play the Cardinals in a Thursday Night Football game in Week 8, as every team must play a Thursday night game.
So as it pertains to the Packers' schedule, it's two primetime games early in the season — against the Lions on Monday Night Football in Week 2 and against the 49ers on Sunday Night Football in Week 3 — that have caused the most concern among schedule makers.
But the Packers also play in the second game of the FOX and CBS doubleheaders in Week 1 and Week 4 — against the Saints and Steelers, respectively — and play Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX in Week 9.
If Rodgers isn't part of the Packers, those games certainly lose their allure, but Katz said the league ultimately had to work with what it knows.
"The Green Bay Packers are still the Green Bay Packers, with or without Aaron Rodgers," Katz told King. "They're a great team and a great brand. We started to think about some of the permutations of the schedule. Ultimately, when he didn't get traded, we couldn't solve for something we didn't know. It was pretty deliberate the way we maxed out the Packers early in the season. You're right that each of the networks has their bite at the Packers in the first month. That was deliberate."
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