Silence is golden. Sometimes, it’s painful.
The Packers were, once again, deafeningly quiet prior to the 2022 NFL trade deadline, despite having their sights set on a player that was moved. That’s not great news for Aaron Rodgers, who needs just a bit more wide receiver help this year.
Chase Claypool was reportedly a target of the Packers, and the team offered the Steelers a second-round pick for the wideout. Pittsburgh, though, shipped him off to Green Bay’s NFC North rival Chicago for that second-round pick price.
MORE: Chase Claypool trade grades — How Bears, Steelers made out
Rodgers was seemingly aware of the Claypool rumors leading up to the deadline, and spoke a little about it on his weekly spot on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday afternoon while the league was locked in a chaotic trade deadline:
“I was kind of hoping there might be some news during this show that we could break, in live time. That would be pretty cool,” Rodgers said of the deadline. “I have had conversations with Brian (Gutekunst) over the past few weeks. I’m not sure what’s gonna happen. But I know that we’ve — I’m not surprised to hear that maybe we were in on the Claypool (deal). We’ll see what happens.”
MORE: Why the Packers didn’t (or couldn’t) make a trade before the trade deadline
Given that Rodgers’ spot on the show was in the hour leading up to the trade deadline, the passer didn’t seem to be reacting to Green Bay’s inactivity at the time, but potentially was holding onto hope that a deal would have gotten done for a wideout — any wideout — during that span.
McAfee lets Rodgers in on the secret that Brandin Cooks, who was reportedly being shopped, was held out of practice on Tuesday, potentially signaling that he could be a target for the Packers. Ultimately, Cooks stayed in Houston.
The NFC North made moves around the Packers: The Bears landed Claypool, while the Vikings traded for Detroit tight end T.J. Hockenson.
The Packers’ inactivity makes Rodgers’ next spot on the “Pat McAfee Show” a bit more intriguing.
