Aaron Rodgers fires back at critics of his involvement in Packers OTAs
Aaron Rodgers is embracing a fresh start with the Jets as he establishes his immense presence in NYC. But he’s still a bit obsessed with criticism lingering from Green Bay.
Let’s take it back to this time last year, when Aaron Rodgers no-showed on OTAs with the Packers. You’d think past history wouldn’t matter now that he’s with the Jets. But Rodgers addressed the topic last week when he was in the middle of an interview with The Athletic.
Fans and critics alike called out Rodgers for missing the sessions. The Packers had several new receivers. Plus, Green Bay had traded Davante Adams, their lead wideout. At a minimum, a veteran quarterback needs to be on site to establish rapport with the new guys. Whether there was a correlation or not, the Packers started slowly last season. They needed a late, five-game winning streak to push themselves back into the playoff conversation. But they failed to secure the berth because of a loss to the Lions on the last day of the regular season.
Packers management also intimated that they weren’t pleased with Rodgers skipping the activities or his attitude during training camp.
“When I’m in, I’m all-in, and you wanna ride with offseason workouts?” Aaron Rodgers said of last year’s OTAs. “I won MVP without doing offseason workouts. Like, was my commitment any less then? I’d say not at all.
“The way that I come back to work, not just physically in good shape but mentally refreshed, is the best thing for me to have the season I wanted to have during those in Green Bay. . . . I think that’s just a cop-out written to try and find something to disparage me about that, honestly, when you know what offseason workouts are really about, it’s completely ridiculous.”
He also added: “I feel good about the way I showed up for my guys every single week (during the season). And it’s convenient now to look at that, but it wasn’t a conversation when (Packers management) would thank me for my speeches after games or the way I fought, played and different things. You can rewrite history all you want, but like I said, I still got the receipts.”
Aaron Rodgers made it a point to be around with the Jets at Florham Park this year. His new team signed Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, two of Rodgers favorite receivers with the Packers. But he’s never thrown to the other guys, like Garrett Wilson, on the roster. He hasn’t been able to do much the past two weeks of workouts. That’s because the 39-year-old strained a calf muscle early last week. He’s out at practice throwing passes in position drills. He then rides a stationary bike when the Jets go to team drills. Coach Robert Saleh said he’s hopeful athletic trainers will clear Rodgers by Friday.
In that same interview, Aaron Rodgers also seemed obsessed with criticism in regards to Packers GM Brian Gutekunst. The quarterback reportedly tried to have Gutekunst fired in 2021. It appears that in early 2023, Rodgers also mostly ignored his now former GM. He said he didn’t “ghost” Gutekunst.
“Like, c’mon man,” Aaron Rodgers said, directing the comment to his old boss with the Packers. “Just tell the truth, you wanted to move on. You didn’t like the fact that we didn’t communicate all the time. Like, listen, I talk to the people that I like.”