The Green Bay Packers have started the third phase of their offseason workouts, and Aaron Rodgers is nowhere to be seen. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Rodgers was not among the group of the players who reported to Green Bay on Monday for the start of organized team activities. This comes one month after it was reported that Rodgers told people in the organization he wasn’t returning to the team next season.
One thing to note about this is the entire offseason program is voluntary, except for minicamp which is from June 8-10. But Rodgers is one of the 19 players on the roster that receives an offseason workout bonus. He was expected to make $500,000 from the offseason workouts but has missed too many days to qualify. Rodgers didn’t participate in Phase 1 or Phase 2 of the offseason program. Phase 3 is 10 days of work to spread over four weeks.
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Rodgers not attending OTAs also means nothing has changed between him and management. Rodgers was looking to get another contract or be traded, which is something the Packers are not attending to do. Earlier this month, Packers coach Matt LaFleur talked about how much he wants Rodgers back with the team in 2021.
“I’ve got nothing new to update, and we still obviously feel the same way,” LaFleur said Friday during the team’s rookie minicamp per ESPN. “We want him back in the worst way. I know he knows that, and we’ll continue to work at it each and every day.” With Rodgers not taking part in OTAs, the Packers have added quarterbacks to the roster, signing Blake Bortles and Kurt Benkert. They are joined by Jordan Love who was drafted in the first round by the Packers in 2020.
Minicamp will be the opportunity to see if things have gotten better with Rodgers and the Packers, Demovsky says if Rodgers doesn’t report for minicamp, he could be finished a total of $93,085. Training camp, which will likely start in July, isn’t better as Rodgers could be fined $50,000 per day missed. Rodgers has been with the Packers since being drafted by the team in the first round in 2005. He has led the Packers to a Super Bowl win in 2010 and has won the NFL MVP award a total of three times.
