Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has insisted that Aaron Rodgers will be the team's quarterback for next season and beyond.
Rodgers still has three years remaining on a four-year, $134million extension he signed in August 2018, but his future with the team came into question after comments he made following the 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
"He's going to be a part of our future, and we look forward to all the runs we're going to be able to make here over the next few years," Gutekunst said Monday during a Zoom call.
"I will say this: We're really excited not only for next year but the years to come. He's playing at such a high level that he always has, and I think this year was a special team.
"It didn't finish like we wanted to finish, but I think everybody's purely motivated to get back and I think, like I said, I don't think there's anything that we have to do. He's our quarterback, and he's our leader."
After the game against the Bucs on January 24, Rodgers said: ''There's a lot of guys' futures that are uncertain, myself included.''
Two days later, the 37-year-old tried to squash any rumour that he would not be returning to Green Bay. ''I don't think there's any reason why I wouldn't be back," he said on SiriusXM Radio's The Pat McAfee Show.
Led by Rodgers, the Packers completed a second straight 13-3 season in 2020, while winning a seventh NFC North crown since 2011. The team averaged an NFL-best 31.8 points per game - second highest in franchise history behind the 35.0 points per game averaged by the 2011 team.
''Obviously he's under contract, and he's playing at an extremely high level,'' Gutekunst said. ''What we're trying to do as an organization and what we're trying to accomplish, we can't do without Aaron Rodgers right now. He's such a part of what we've done. He's such a part of what we're doing right now and certainly in the future.''
Rodgers helped Green Bay to a fourth NFC championship game in the last seven seasons, but the Packers are winless in NFC title games since Rodgers lead the franchise to its fourth Super Bowl championships in the 2010 season.
Despite the postseason shortcomings, Packers coach Matt LaFleur echoed Gutekunst's viewpoint when asked about Rodgers being his quarterback.
"Is that a trick question?" LaFleur said. "Absolutely. There's no doubt about it."
The subject of Rodgers' future in Green Bay began back in April when the Packers traded up to draft Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th pick of the first round.
Rodgers' play on the field, however, has not given the Packers any reason to turn the keys of the offense over to Love.
The favourite to win a third NFL MVP award this Saturday, Rodgers threw for a league-leading and career-best 48 touchdowns to just five interceptions this past season. He also threw for 4,299 yards to become the first QB in NFL history to throw for at least 4,000 yards with 45 or more TD passes and five or fewer interceptions in a season.
''You're talking about the guy that's going to win the MVP of the league,'' LaFleur said. ''We're not in this position without him.
"I couldn't be happier with just not only his performance but how he led our football team, all the little things he does within that locker room to ensure that everybody is locked in, focused and ready to go. Absolutely he will be here for a long time.''