PHOENIX, AZ (WTAQ) – On Monday, Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst offered up his side of the story in the ongoing Aaron Rodgers saga and what the team hopes is the ultimate conclusion, a trade to the New York Jets that will bring a close to his spectacular 18 year career in Green Bay.
Today at the NFL Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, Head Coach Matt LaFleur sat down with reporters to give his thoughts on what turned about to be a four year relationship with Rodgers that produced 47 regular season victories, three playoff appearances and a pair of NFL Most Valuable Player awards. LaFleur made it clear the divorce was a subject he wanted to steer clear of but opened his 31 minute session by looking back on their time together and the eventual succession to Jordan Love as his starting quarterback.
LaFleur did admit the offense will probably look different with Love at the controls and time will be spent in the off-season programming catering the changes to Love’s strengths. Complicating matters is the fact the wide receiver and tight end positions are almost bereft of veteran talent. Allen Lazard is already a New York Jet, Robert Tonyan signed with Chicago and Randall Cobb and Marcedes Lewis are still on the free agent market. LaFleur said the only position groups with experience are at running back and to a lesser degree, the offensive line. Adding a veteran receiver or drafting another to join Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson will be a priority. LaFleur said he may also have to re-think quarterback playing time reps in pre-season games to make sure Love gets as many as possible. Another arm to work behind Jordan and the now backup, Danny Etling is also on the to do list.
As for the defensive side of the ball, LaFleur explained his reasons for bringing back Joe Barry as his coordinator. LaFluer said continuity is important and while the defense struggled at times, as did all three phases during the team’s five game skid last season, Barry kept communication lines open with his players, even after losing a key piece in Rashan Gary, and the unit performed better as the season closed. He also pointed to two successful game plans against a potent Detroit offense and the shutdown performance against Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson in January. The only key addition to the staff was the hiring of Greg Williams to handle the secondary in place of Jerry Gray who left to become the assistant head coach with the Atlanta Falcons. Williams has a history with Barry and Rich Bisaccia with the Los Angeles Chargers and LaFleur was impressed with his first meeting saying he knocked his interview out of the park. LaFleur plans to keep Rasul Douglas on the perimeter of the defense as a corner rather than try him in the slot. The group of defensive backs offers Barry and Williams plenty of versatility with Darnell Savage hoping to pick up where he left off at safety and Jaire Alexander able to match up with an opponent’s top receiver as he did against Jefferson with splashy results.
LaFleur also talked of special teams and how valuable the addition of Rich Bisaccia was as the new coordinator in 2022. Schematically sound units also developed an enthusiastic play style that exploded once Keisean Nixon became the primary returner, earning first team All-Pro honors as a result. LaFleur is also excited Nixon has been re-signed because field position is a huge part of the game. While he “went rogue” on a couple of returns late last season, his dynamic impact was undeniable. Nixon will get a great opportunity to earn the starting nickel spot on defense and LaFleur finished his media session by hinting he may even have a surprise or two with Keisean on offense this fall.
