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Aaron Rodgers: Why cut Jordy Nelson and bring in Dez?

New Monday Night Football analyst Jason Witten neglected to check with the superstar quarterback when he predicted last week that former teammate and current free agent Dez Bryantwill end up in Green Bay.

Aaron Rodgers made it clear Tuesday that he doesn't expect Bryant to join the Packers for the 2018 season.

"Well, we like young receivers, so I'm assuming that's the way they're going to keep going," Rodgers said, via ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "I don't know why you'd cut Jordy [Nelson] and bring in Dez.

"But he's a talented player. He's going to end up somewhere. If he ends up here, we'll obviously welcome him with open arms and get him up to speed as quick as possible."

The Packers decided to shed Nelson's salary and go young at wide receiver after shelling out $30 million over three years for tight end Jimmy Graham's new contract in March.

From Rodgers' point of view, why would the Packers pay for Bryant's declining production when they opted against doing the same for Nelson?

Rodgers expects third-year receiver Geronimo Allison to be the primary replacement for Nelson, stepping in alongside Davante Adams and Randall Cobb in three-receiver sets. He's also breaking in a trio of mid-round draft picks in Missouri's J'Mon Moore, South Florida's Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Notre Dame's Equanimeous St. Brown.

It wasn't too long ago that household names such as Donald Driver and Greg Jennings were jettisoned to make way for Nelson and Cobb. As Rodgers knows all too well, the Packers aren't in the business of paying progress stoppers at wide receiver.

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