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If anyone was surprised that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers chose to report on time for training camp, then they probably weren’t reading the tea leaves correctly over the summer. For one thing, Rodgers has been relatively stoic about the negotiations between his agent and the Packers’ front office about a contract extension. In addition, he still has two years left on his current deal so the bulk of the power in the negotiations still lies with the team, which means it’s no surprise that he’s back at work.
On Wednesday, we learned more about the status of the negotiations from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who says that the two sides are making “noticeable progress” on an extension:
From Inside Training Camp: Over the last few days, there has been measurable progress for a contract extension for #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. pic.twitter.com/9lPBoHdeAU
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 1, 2018
Rapoport continues on to use phrases like “ramped up” and “moving in the right direction” to describe the negotiations and that the goal is to get a deal done before week one of the regular season.
Although this runs somewhat counter to other reports in the last few weeks that said there has been little movement on the deal, Rapoport’s reporting is typically rock-solid. Therefore, this should certainly come as good news for Packers fans who are hoping to see Rodgers finish out his career as well as play through the 2018 season without any lingering questions about his contract. Similarly, the team should be happy if they can get this done prior to the start of the regular season, as that would allow the franchise to better plan out finances for the remainder of 2018 and beyond.
At present, the Packers have $10.8 million in salary cap space, according to the NFLPA. Depending on the structure of Rodgers’ future contract extension, it could shift some of his existing 2018 cap hit to future years to free up additional space. However, the Packers typically like to use up current cap space rather than limiting themselves too much with massively back-loaded deals.
Still, keep a close eye on the Twitter account of former Packers wideout James Jones, who will be the one to break the news about an extension (as Rodgers confirmed earlier this offseason).