Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers will reportedly miss the Green Bay Packers' mandatory minicamp this week, adding further fuel to the rumours that he wants out of Wisconsin.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and ESPN's Adam Schefter were first to report Rodgers would be absent from the camp, which opens Tuesday. Schefter adds that the Packers could fine Rodgers $93,085 if he misses all three days, but that discipline is up to the team's discretion.
Rodgers' decision not to report comes after he also skipped the team's voluntary training days in May.
Reports of Rodgers' unhappiness with the Packers -- the only team he's ever known over his 16 year career -- first surfaced on April 29, the same day as the opening round of the NFL Draft. General manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters at the time that “We are not going to trade Aaron Rodgers” but the rumours have persisted.
Last week, Packers CEO Mark Murphy wrote in a public letter to fans that the team's fanbase is divided over how to proceed.
“We remain committed to resolving things with Aaron and want him to be our quarterback in 2021 and beyond,” Murphy said. “We are working to resolve the situation and realize that the less both sides say publicly, the better.”
The Packers raised some eyebrows in 2020 when they selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the draft, seemingly laying succession plans for the most important position in football. Rodgers has denied the addition of Love is the reason for his frustration with the club and he reminded the entire NFL that he's still a more than capable passer, winning the MVP award last season while leading Green Bay to the NFC title game for the second consecutive season.
“I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization,” Rodgers said in a May interview with ESPN. “History is important, the legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. People make an organization. People make a business, and sometimes that gets forgotten. Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people, not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It’s built by the people.”
