Bart Winkler, Host of "The Bart Winkler Show" Podcast

Bart Winkler always does a great job when I'm on vacation and fills in on this show. You can also hear him other times on CBS Sports Radio and he has his own show, The Bart Winkler Show, which is a daily podcast on Blue Wire Pods. He joins us right now. Bart, I wanted to bring you on today because I know Aaron Rodgers is your BFF. How did you react to the news today on the Pat McAfee show and how he handled that for about an hour?

Well, I am excited to be on the same show with John Coon because he's coming up. We both owe our careers to him, but I'm willing to drag Aaron's name through the mud and he's not, so I'd like to start. I just, I'm tired of this and I think that Aaron has lost control of the narrative a little bit and so he was trying to get it back today and it just comes off pathetic and foolish and embarrassing and depressing and sad and I know the Jets fans are going to be happy because they're going to get, even Rodgers in whatever state he comes in, is going to be better than anything they've had in the last 30 years, but I think they are getting a guy who doesn't know what he wants. The only thing that he can be fueled by is revenge. He found a way to get revenge and he's going to go to New York and win seven games and it's going to be a nightmare for them.

So that's where I'm at right now. No hard feelings, of course, with all due respect. Well, I think they'll make the playoffs, but here's where I agree with you. I think the drama he's selling right now, I don't buy. If you're annoyed that the Packers said they'll let you make the decision and then something changed once he came out of the cave, well, you could have told them because when you went into the cave, you're at 90 retirement, which I don't believe, but that's what he claims. And then when you had also the AJ Hawk follow up with them and go, oh, would you have come back if they wanted you back?

And he said, no. So he didn't want to go back or he was going to retire. Why didn't he just tell the Packers that from the jump?

Because he wants to be wanted and he wants to be in control of the story. Aaron Rodgers is, there's so many things that bothered me with today. And I think the thing that I keep coming back to is when he blasted the report about the wishlist for his players, the wishlist. Diana Ruscini put out a tweet that said, Aaron Rodgers has a wishlist. He would like the Jets to contact so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so.

And one already signed in Lazard. There's reports about Cobb, but, but Rodgers, this is what he does. He takes that report and says, that's false. And you say, why is it false?

The Jets went and signed Alan Lazard. They're talking to these guys. Rodgers then admitted that he said, yeah, I recommended, you know, I talked about some of these guys to see if they, because what Aaron's saying is, I never wrote on a piece of paper wish list and sent it to the Jets. So therefore it is false. It's like, nobody can ever be right about him.

He's always, even, even though the media and Schefter and Rappaport and all these guys, they've been like 99.8% right on all this reporting for three years. But Rodgers will find that one little word that's not placed in the right part and say the whole thing's a lie. It is, it is disgusting.

And too many people in this country do it. And I'm, look, I don't know what kind of emotional state I'm in. This is very stupid. This is ending the same way it ended with the other guy 16 years ago. Rodgers, I think, Galby Rodgers, I think thought that he's good enough. He called it. He called himself the best player in Packers history, which is fine maybe.

But who says that? So Rodgers, he thought he was good enough that he could leave on his own terms. He thought he had tenure. He thought I'm leaving when I want to leave this franchise will do what I want to do when I want to do it.

And all veterans should be the same way. He thinks the Packers moving on from guys too early is is not right. It's not the way to do business. And what I was saying on my podcast of our Winkler show, thank you for the plug, is that, look, my radio career, my career has been up and down. There's been times where I thought I had a job and I did it.

There's been times where I had a job and then I didn't. And I never have any hard feelings, because I know that's the business. I know what business I'm in. And Rodgers, Rodgers has to know what business he's in. He's in a business where guys get cut all the time. Guys don't see the end of their contracts all the time.

And it's all great for player empowerment and all that stuff. And I get he's trying to change the world. But he's got to understand that the thing that happened that got him a starting job was eventually going to happen to him someday. And he's having a hard time dealing with that. And now we have to sit on the other end of the couch while he eats the ice cream and cries to us.

And it's annoying. And so good luck, Jets. Bart Winkler, what do you think the Packers will get back for him?

Because that's the only other thing you have to iron out here. I don't know. I think so. The Packers could have got a bunch for him last year. So now they're like, well, geez, we got to at least save face. I think the Packers are fine trading them for a late pick.

I don't think they care. Just move on from him. Hey, clear some cap space. We're fine with that. We've got Jordan Love. Let's move on.

Okay. And the Packers would be probably fine with a package that would get made fun of by their fans and media. And the Jets would say, ha ha, we policed them. And so the Packers are trying to like save face a little bit because you can't just trade Aaron Rodgers for a six round pick when all these other guys are getting traded for first. Now there's other things into it with how terrible that contract is and stuff.

And I'm trying to figure out in this case who has the leverage. It seems like the Packers have some leverage because who are the Jets going to sign, right? And Rodgers wants to go there. So it seems like the Packers hold the cards. But do the Packers want to make this trade before the draft? Because if they want to make it before the draft, well, then suddenly the Jets get a little more leverage. That's why this entire thing. That's why this entire thing is stupid. Packers don't care to make it before the draft. Then the Packers get a bunch of leverage. That's why this entire thing is stupid, Bart, because this could have been figured out a month ago.

Rodgers didn't want to go back and the Packers didn't want him back. Like it should not have got to this point. It's just so dumb.

Well, but it's always dumb. It's always been three years now of Rodgers saying, I'll make my decision quick. And then him not making a decision and then him popping up on all these things, whether it's the Kentucky Derby or the Aubrey Marcus show or whatever, and then not saying anything. And then finally we're all like, Oh, Rodgers on McAfee today. No, he's not. Then he wasn't.

And then Rodgers is on McAfee. And then he says, I'm not going to, I'm not going to say anything. Here's 20 minutes of me talking about, I mean, just get to the point.

And it's, it's, I just don't understand how people are like, okay with, I just, it's, it's so grating. And no matter how good he was as a football player, this guy eats up way too much of my time, way too much of my life. Yes, it does help my numbers when there's Rogers news. And I'm excited for a good show tomorrow to be posted, but I would rather just move on and see something new. As crazy as that sounds as a Packer fan, Jordan love Bart Winkler next year will be what for the Packers? I think he's going to be the next guy.

And I think he's going to be here for a while. I think that Rogers endorsement of love is true. And I think that to me, what tells me love is good is that Rogers didn't let him see the field this year.

Rogers played until the bitter end. Four and eight injured could have sat down. Nobody would have cared, but then we would have seen five weeks of Jordan love. And then we would have all seen, Oh, okay.

Love's ready. But Rogers would have lost control of the narrative. So he played very pedestrian numbers. Didn't have a touch more than a touchdown in any of the last five games. One thing's through his defense. I think Rogers playing through an injury last year, wasn't about trying to make the playoffs.

It was about trying to keep Jordan love on the bench because he knows if we would have saw him, none of this narrative would have been in his control as he's trying so desperately to hang onto it now. Do me a favor. You need to calm down a little bit.

I enjoyed playing the role of the therapist today. Go to fourth base tonight. It will be on me. All right. You got to get a good meal tonight. All right.

I will do that. It's just a pop flight from the ballpark. As you know, in Milwaukee also bucks are winning the championship. They pretty much decided that on their road trip. So I'm looking forward to talking with you all throughout the summer as well. Yeah. I agree. The bucks will win the championship this year. Your prediction about the jets only winning seven games that I don't buy. So we'll agree on something to end the interview and we'll keep it positive with the Milwaukee bucks. Bart be well. All right. I love you. Nothing's better than feeling comfortable in your own shoes.

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