Aaron Rodgers on Report He's Upset with Packers: 'You Have to Trust the Process'

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers responded Tuesday to a report from Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports suggesting the veteran was "'frustrated' and 'emotional' over a lack of communication from the front office prior to some significant decisions this offseason."

"You have to trust the process...and the process works," Rodgers told reporters, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, adding, "They're paying me to play quarterback...and there's interest on both sides in getting (a contract extension) done."

According to Robinson's report, Rodgers was particularly unhappy that he wasn't consulted before wide receiver Jordy Nelson and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt were let go. A source told Robinson those decisions particularly impacted Rodgers:

"Both of those decisions [with Nelson and Van Pelt] were made without him. In both situations, he had no influence with [the front office] before anything went down.

"I know he's thinking about that stuff when it comes to the next contract because he should have earned a voice by now. In other places with [elite] quarterbacks, consideration is given to those guys. I think Aaron wants to be engaged in some decisions. But that's just not the way it works [in Green Bay]. I think that's obviously frustrating and it’s going to keep coming out."

Rodgers spoke about the departure of Nelson on Tuesday from a personal standpoint, per Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com:

"As humans we have personal connections. And obviously [Nelson] was one of my closest friends in the locker room for a number of years. We played together for a long time and talked about finishing his career here, together, making the most of our opportunities. That's the disappointment, when you get close to your teammates and they aren't here anymore. Especially when they're not here and playing somewhere else. But again, the organization's making decisions they feel are in the best interest of our team."

In February, Rodgers publicly commented on the decision to move on from Van Pelt.

"I thought that was an interesting change, really without consulting me,” he said during an interview on ESPN Radio. "There's a close connection between quarterback and quarterback coach. And that was an interesting decision."

The elephant in the room is Rodgers' looming free agency after the 2019 season. If Rodgers doesn't trust the direction the Packers are taking—or doesn't feel he has any input, even minimal, in decisions that affect his ability to play at an elite level—negotiations between the two parties could get interesting in the coming years.

The Packers hold a fair amount of leverage in that regard with the ability to use the franchise tag. But Washington did that twice with Kirk Cousins, which almost assuredly played a large factor in his decision to sign elsewhere this offseason. It's hard to imagine the Packers want that sort of standoff with their Hall of Fame quarterback.