Aaron Rodgers has made his decision on attending Green Bay Packers mandatory minicamp. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Rodgers was not present at the team’s meeting on Tuesday morning to start minicamp. This is not a big surprise since Rodgers hasn’t attended any of the team’s offseason workouts this year, but if Rodgers miss all three days of minicamp, he could be fined $93,085.
Rodgers already has missed out on $500,000 of workout bonus money, so the $93,085 is not going to be a big deal for him. But the three-time MVP could see significant fines if he doesn’t show up for training camp, which begins on July 27. With Rodgers not attending minicamp, reporters are declaring him a holdout.
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“Aaron definitely knows how we feel about him,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said in May. “How he’s such an important part to our football team. Such an important part to our organization. We’re just going to continue to try to work through this and hopefully we can get him back in the building at some point.” A report came out in April about Rodgers telling people in the Packers organization that he’s not returning to the team. He explained the situation to Kenny Mayne on SportsCenter in May.
“With my situation, look it’s never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan [Love],” Rodgers told Mayne. “I love Jordan; he’s a great kid. [We’ve had] a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. An incredible 16 years. It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”
Rodgers not attending offseason workouts or minicamp has fans wondering if the Packers will trade him. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said the team has no plans to trade Rodgers, but teams have shown interest in acquiring the 37-year-old quarterback. If the Packers don’t trade Rodgers, it’s likely he will stay on the roster this fall and not play one game. It’s also possible Rodgers could retire and return after the 2021 season to play for another team.
