Report: 49ers were Rodgers' preferred trade destination in offseason

When Aaron Rodgers sought a divorce from the Green Bay Packers this past offseason, the San Francisco 49ers were his preferred destination, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports, citing sources.

The Chico, California, native will lead Green Bay against San Francisco on Sunday Night Football in Week 3.

Upon learning of Rodgers' interest, the 49ers called Packers head coach Matt LaFleur but were quickly rebuffed on a potential trade, as Niners general manager John Lynch admitted in April.

"You're talking about the MVP of our league last year," Lynch said after the draft.

"I don't know about you guys, but when the MVP of the league might be available - and I didn't know that, I'm just reading the tea leaves like everybody else and saying, 'Hold on, is something going on here?' Yeah, we inquired. And it was a quick end to the conversation. It wasn't happening."

The NFC West club would have been Rodgers' team of choice if the signal-caller was a free agent, Rapoport adds.

Rodgers has confirmed he thought the franchise was going to trade him at various points during the offseason.

When asked this week whether he believed San Francisco would have dealt for him, Rodgers responded, "There were points where I thought anything was possible. Definitely. But not a strong possibility."

The 37-year-old also considered retiring due to his displeasure with his situation in Green Bay. Instead, the two sides renegotiated his contract before training camp.

The 1-1 Packers visit the 2-0 Niners, who have veteran Jimmy Garoppolo under center.