Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay for start of training camp

From Fox6Now:

Rodgers arrives in Green Bay for start of training camp. (Courtesy: Packers Twitter Page)

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Aaron Rodgers has made it to Green Bay on the eve of the Packers’ first training-camp workout.

Rodgers was seen arriving at Lambeau Field on Tuesday morning, the day after NFL Network and ESPN reported the reigning MVP was closing in on a deal that would keep him with the Packers this season. The Packers later tweeted a photo of Rodgers at Lambeau Field — wearing oversize sunglasses and a novelty T-shirt referencing "The Office."

The Packers open training camp Wednesday. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Rodgers would have been subject to a $50,000 fine for every day he held out during camp.

Rodgers didn’t participate in organized team activities this spring — a change from his usual offseason routine — and skipped the Packers’ mandatory minicamp.

His future with the Packers had seemed tenuous after ESPN reported in the hours leading up to the draft that he didn’t want to return to Green Bay. Rodgers has spent his entire career with the Packers, who selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

When the NFL’s only publicly-owned team held its shareholders meeting Monday, Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy said he was hopeful the two sides could resolve their differences and added that they’d been "in constant communication."

"We want him back," Murphy told the 3,900 shareholders who gathered at Lambeau Field. "We’re committed to him for 2021 and beyond. He’s our leader. We’re looking forward to winning another Super Bowl with him."

NFL Network reported Monday that Rodgers had told people close to him he planned to play for the Packers this season. ESPN reported that Rodgers and the Packers were on the verge of a deal in which the team would void the final year of the three-time MVP’s contract, perhaps clearing the way for him to leave Green Bay after the upcoming season.

The return of Rodgers would make the Packers legitimate Super Bowl contenders once again after they lost in the NFC championship game each of the last two seasons.

Rodgers, 37, threw for a league-high 48 touchdown passes with only five interceptions last season while helping the Packers lead the league in scoring. He also led the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage.

The return of Rodgers would make the Packers legitimate Super Bowl contenders once again after they lost in the NFC championship game each of the last two seasons.

Rodgers, 37, threw for a league-high 48 touchdown passes with only five interceptions last season while helping the Packers lead the league in scoring. He also led the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage.

From: https://www.fox6now.com/sports/aaron-rodgers-appears-to-land-in-green-bay-as-new-deal-looms-report

Packers CEO mum on player vaccination rates as NFL imposes new COVID-19 related fines, restrictions

From TMJ4:

By: Ben Jordan

Posted at 6:35 PM, Jul 27, 2021

 

and last updated 7:00 PM, Jul 27, 2021

GREEN BAY — The National Football League is imposing tougher COVID-19 protocols and penalties for the upcoming season. The NFL is not requiring players to be vaccinated, but those who choose not to will have to practice and play under a different set of restrictions.

NFL teams are required to have 85 percent of the players vaccinated to be able to loosen COVID-19 protocols. The Green Bay Packers have yet to share where they stand with reaching that threshold, but one thing is certain: unvaccinated players who break guidelines will face major fines.

When the Green Bay Packers’ training camp kicks off on Wednesday, the NFL’s new COVID-19 protocols will essentially create two sets of players on the same team based on their vaccination status.

Players who are vaccinated face almost no guidelines. Unvaccinated players face daily testing, masks and social distancing requirements inside team facilities, and 10-day quarantines for those who test positive, just to name a few.

The league said any unvaccinated player who breaks protocols can be fined $14,650 each time. Packers fan Jamarius Moseby thinks it makes sense to have two sets of rules with so much money on the line.

"If it's something that the organization or the league or the team wants you to do specifically, why not do it? Because at the end of the day, that's how you get paid,” he said.

TMJ4

The harshest penalty outlined by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says if a regular season cannot be rescheduled due to an outbreak among unvaccinated players, that team will be required to forfeit, take a loss on their record, and their game checks will be withheld.

“People have been waiting so long to go back to normal and enjoy the games, and if they have to miss one because of that, I think fans are not going to be happy,” said Packers fan Cheryl Habush.

During a news conference Monday, Packers CEO Mark Murphy declined to share how many Packers players are fully vaccinated.

“I would say we have a ways to go and we’re working on it,” Murphy said.

TMJ4

Packers CEO Mark Murphy

According to NFL insiders, at least 14 teams have 85 percent of their players vaccinated, which clears the way for fewer protocols.

“It’s really designed to incentivize players to get vaccinated,” Murphy said.

ESPN reports more than 70 percent of NFL players are at least partially vaccinated.

"I think what the NFL is saying is, ‘you know what, for those we have the most control over, whether it's the team's support staff, we want those folks vaccinated. We probably can't tell the players that they have to be vaccinated, but if a player's going to choose not to be vaccinated, then it's partly on them then to absorb the consequences of that decision,’” said UW Health Chief Quality Officer Dr. Jeff Pothof.

With the Delta variant causing concern about another surge in cases among the unvaccinated, Dr. Pothof says the time has come for businesses like the NFL to do what they think is best to ensure revenue isn’t lost.

"I think a lot of people would like to say, ‘well you're just trying to make it hard on the players, just trying to stick it to them.' It really probably has less to do with that and more to do with they're trying to run a successful business, and if we don't have folks who are vaccinated, we can't run successful businesses,” Dr. Pothof said.

When it comes to fans in the stands at Lambeau Field this fall, Murphy said the organization is in constant communication with local health officials, but plans remain to be at full capacity.

From: https://www.tmj4.com/news/coronavirus/packers-ceo-mum-on-player-vaccination-rates-as-nfl-imposes-new-covid-19-related-fines-restrictions

Packers, Aaron Rodgers close to an agreement for at least this season: Reports

From TMJ4:

By: TMJ4 Web Staff

Posted at 12:11 PM, Jul 26, 2021

 

and last updated 10:57 PM, Jul 26, 2021

GREEN BAY — Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers does plan to play in Green Bay this season and is close to a new agreement with the team, according to reports on Monday.

Ian Rapoport first reported that sources close to the MVP said he does plan to play for the Packers this season and that many factors are still at play.

According to ESPN senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the team is offering concessions to Rodgers, and is "close to an agreement that would bring Aaron Rodgers back to Green Bay for at least this season," citing sources.

Schefter says the new agreement "would help set up Aaron Rodgers’ departure from Green Bay after this season."

The ESPN insider continues that the 2023 year in Rodgers’ contract would be voided in the agreement, "with no tags allowed in the future," according to sources.

According to the Associated Press, Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said he’s optimistic Rodgers will play for the team this season.

Murphy said Rodgers hasn’t told him about his plans.

• Report: Green Bay Packers, star receiver Davante Adams have 'broken off' contract talks

The Packers hold their first training camp workout this Wednesday.

Murphy said there is no scenario in which the team would trade Rodgers, according to the AP.

From: https://www.tmj4.com/sports/green-bay-packers/aaron-rodgers-does-plan-to-play-in-green-bay-this-season-nfl-insider-says

Packers' Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams post cryptic photo about a 'last dance'

From JSOnline:

Stu Courtney

Packers News

GREEN BAY — In what they dubbed “The Last Dance,” Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls to what would be the last of their six NBA championships before they went their separate ways amid a management-led breakup of the team.

Are Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams contemplating a similar farewell to Green Bay?

On Friday night, both posted an identical photo of Jordan and Pippen to their Instagram Story accounts:

Rodgers has scarcely been heard from since ESPN reported on the first day of the NFL draft in April that the star quarterback no longer wanted to play for the Packers. His future (or lack of one) in Green Bay has been the biggest talking point of the NFL offseason.

Adams made headlines Friday when it was reported that contract-extension talks with the Packers had broken off. Adams has one more year left on his contract. He is said to be seeking to replace Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins as the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.

What is the meaning behind their near-simultaneous posts of the Jordan/Pippen photo? Could it mean Rodgers intends to stick around one more season and join Adams in trying to win what has been an elusive Super Bowl crown in their final season together?

Or is it merely a show of solidarity between two star players who have chosen to lock horns with Packers management.

We may find out soon: Packers training camp opens Tuesday.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2021/07/24/green-bay-packers-last-dance-aaron-rodgers-and-davante-adams/8079696002/

Report: Aaron Rodgers turned down offer from Packers to make him highest-paid QB

From TMJ4:

Photo by: Jeffrey Phelps/AP

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2021, file photo, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) runs with the ball during the team's NFL divisional playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Green Bay, Wis. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ teammates say the MVP’s uncertain status won’t distract them in their offseason preparations. Rodgers hasn’t been present for organized team activities this week following an ESPN report last month that he doesn’t want to return to Green Bay. Rodgers was noncommittal about his future in an ESPN interview Monday night, May 24, 2021.(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)

By: TMJ4 Web Staff

Posted at 9:56 AM, Jul 20, 2021

 

and last updated 1:56 PM, Jul 20, 2021

GREEN BAY — According to ESPN senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Aaron Rodgers turned down a two-year contract extension that would make him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

The contract would've tied Rodgers to Green Bay for five more seasons, according to Schefter.

Rodgers didn't attend the Packers mandatory minicamp in June, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the future of his career with Green Bay.

Schefter tweeted back in April that Rodgers was "disgruntled" with the Packers and had told people within the organization that he didn't want to return to the team.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst released a statement following reports, saying the team is "committed to Aaron in 2021 and beyond." Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy echoed the sentiment in his monthly column 'Murphy Takes 5'.

The first preseason game is set for August 14 at 7 p.m. at Lambeau Field.

From: https://www.tmj4.com/sports/green-bay-packers/report-aaron-rodgers-turned-down-offer-from-packers-to-make-him-highest-paid-qb

ESPN's First Take disses Milwaukee, referring to it as a 'terrible city'

From JSOnline:

Drake Bentley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

ESPN's First Take discussed the possibility of traveling to Milwaukee for the NBA Finals, dissing the city in the process. 

Former NFL player Damien Woody asked talking head Stephen A. Smith if he really wanted to travel to Milwaukee and Smith responded with a "hell no." 

Host Molly Qerim Rose was happy that the program will likely forgo traveling to a site for the NBA Finals this year because "it's going to be terrible cities." The remaining cities in the playoffs are Milwaukee, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. 

Max Kellerman tried to clean up Rose's statements: "Terrible cities? Molly didn't mean that."

"I don't believe I've ever rooted for the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers more in my life," said Smith, making it known he prefers to travel to Atlanta or Los Angeles as opposed to the Brew City. 

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS. 

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2021/06/22/espns-first-take-calls-milwaukee-terrible-city-nba-finals-talks/5313604001/

Aaron Rodgers' stance has not changed - Adam Schefter | NFL Live

Brett Favre says he's not optimistic Aaron Rodgers will play for Green Bay Packers again

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brett Favre hopes Aaron Rodgers can win another Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, but he's not optimistic that there will be another run given what he knows about the rift between Rodgers and the team.

In an appearance on ESPN Wisconsin radio's Wilde & Tausch, Favre on Wednesday detailed his text conversation with Rodgers and made comparisons to his own departure from the Packers in 2008.

But what was most striking was his prediction for how it will play out.

"Boy it's a good question; that's the million-dollar question," Favre said during a 45-minute interview on the show. "I think I know Aaron fairly well, and honestly I just don't see him coming back and just saying, 'All right, let's just bury the hatchet, whatever caused the rift, and I'm just going to come back and play because I love the guys, I love the Green Bay fans' -- I assume he does -- but his rift isn't with the fans or the players. It's with the front office. Will he just swallow his pride and come in? Maybe. But I don't see that happening.

"If there's not a trade, my gut tells me that he'd rather sit out than play. That's just my gut. There's no reason for me to say that other than that's what my gut's telling me, and I think you guys know Aaron fairly well enough to sort of feel the same way."

Read and see more: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31394130/brett-favre-says-not-optimistic-aaron-rodgers-play-green-bay-packers-again

Coronavirus Crisis Continues With Staggering Surge In Florida | TODAY

Stephen A.: The Packers don't give a damn about how Aaron Rodgers feels! | First Take

Sources: President Donald Trump says NFL season should start on time

In a conference call with major league sports commissioners on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he believes the NFL season should start on time in September, sources familiar with the call told ESPN.

Trump also said he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September, sources said, although it is currently unclear if medical experts find that to be a realistic timeline amid the current coronavirus pandemic.

"I want fans back in the arenas," Trump said later in a briefing at the White House. "I think it's ... whenever we're ready. As soon as we can, obviously. And the fans want to be back, too. They want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey. They want to see their sports. They want to go out onto the golf courses and breathe nice, clean, beautiful fresh air."

Read more: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28995399/sources-trump-says-nfl-start