Early during the 2021 offseason, Aaron Rodgers' longtime agent David Dunn called Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy and requested he fire Brian Gutekunst or trade Aaron Rodgers. Murphy did neither, but news broke close to the draft that Rodgers wanted a trade but the Packers kept him.

“I was under contract, for one, so definitely wasn’t gonna hold out and let them fine me,” Rodgers said. “There were a lot of things that I was hoping were gonna change, and they made some promises about things they were gonna try and do better. But I just felt like coming back, have a good season, move forward and just not focus on some of those things that I really felt strongly about but that may or may not actually ever get done.”

Rodgers went on to win his second straight MVP award and the Packers had the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.

In March 2022, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150 million extension to keep him in Green Bay. 

The Arizona Cardinals released DeAndre Hopkins on Friday, months after the wide receiver first surfaced as a trade candidate.

According to a report, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were the only teams that engaged in "substantive talks" with the Cardinals about a trade.

Both clubs balked due to financial reasons.

Austin Ekeler, who requested a trade this offseason, is now staying with the Los Angeles Chargers with close to $2 million in incentives added to his deal this season, according to a source.

Ekeler, 28, will be a free agent after the 2023 season.

Brandon Staley had said that he expected Ekeler to attend the team's mandatory minicamp, which begins June 13.

In March, Ekeler told Chris Long on the "Greenlight" podcast that he is "so underpaid right now" and expressed a desire to sign a long-term extension, whether with the Chargers or another team.

The Cleveland Browns have agreed to acquire Za'Darius Smith from the Minnesota Vikings for a pair of fifth-round picks (2024 and 2025). Cleveland will also get a 2025 sixth rounder and a 2025 seventh rounder.

Smith will team up with All-Pro Myles Garrett to give Cleveland one of the most accomplished pass-rushing duos in the NFL. Smith is one of five players to have 10-plus sacks in three of the past four seasons. Smith still has more than $11 in guaranteed salary left on his deal.

Zach Ertz says he was nearly traded to the Buffalo Bills during the 2021 season.

The Bills suffered an epic loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs that year.

"I was getting traded out of Philadelphia," Ertz said. "There were a couple teams extremely interested, Buffalo being one of them. It was almost a done deal, but it just didn't get over the finish line."

The Eagles ultimately dealt the tight end to the Arizona Cardinals for a fifth-round pick and cornerback Tay Gowan.

Kirk Cousins has no doubt about where he wants to spend the rest of his career, even after negotiations with the Minnesota Vikings on a contract extension broke down this winter.

"I want to be in Minnesota," Cousins said. "That's kind of a no-brainer. Hopefully, we can earn the right to do that."

Cousins, who will turn 35 in August, is in the final year of a series of contracts that have paid him $155 million since the Vikings signed him in 2018.

Minnesota selected BYU's Jaren Hall in the fifth round as a developmental prospect, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said afterward that "every option is open to us going forward" at the position, including signing Cousins to a new deal.

"In this league, there should never be entitlement," Cousins said. "You've always got to go play, and teams can do whatever they want to do. That's their prerogative. You just go to work. You do the best you can. I'm encouraged and excited because I do feel like I've got a lot of good football ahead of me."

The New York Giants tried to trade up to draft a wide receiver in last weekend's NFL Draft, according to a report.

The Giants were actively trying to acquire a pick that would net them Boston College star Zay Flowers, the report states.

New York held the No. 24 pick and was ultimately unable to find a deal for them to move up and take Flowers, who went No. 22 to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Giants ended up taking Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks with the 24th pick after a run on receivers from picks 20-23.

New Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman asked to be traded by the New Orleans Saints.

"Oh yeah, absolutely," said Trautman, who reunites with Sean Payton. "I was actually hoping to get moved. This was initiated by me personally. I've been waiting for a little bit for something to materialize and it just happened to be the Broncos, obviously."

A third-round pick by the Saints in 2020, he generated 42 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns in two years under Payton. But in 2022, he saw his play time dwindle under the reshuffled coaching staff. 

A record 43 trades were made during the 2023 NFL Draft, breaking the mark (40) set back in 2019.

There were six trades made on the clock in Thursday's first round alone.