The buzz surrounding Aaron Rodgers to the Denver Broncos has diminished over the previous week, but with the news that Aaron Rodgers did not report to on-field activities on Monday, the wheels of the hype machine will begin churning again.
The significance of Rodgers’ absence should be taken with a grain of salt, however.
Rodgers is reportedly unhappy with General Manager Brian Gutekunst, which is no secret, but it appears that it was well known that Rodgers would not attend OTAs before Monday.
From the column: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson aren't expected to report for Phase III today … but that's not about their individual situations. Seahawks and Packers players are staying away until agreements can be reached on how OTAs look. https://t.co/v1sv6TxsxR
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 24, 2021
At this point in the off-season, players are not required to show up to or participate in OTAs. Players annually opt-out for a myriad of reasons including contract negotiations, health concerns/recovery, personal matters, or they simply do not see the need.
But COVID-19 has been the biggest culprit in what may be the most significant changes to OTA practices.
The NFLPA is currently urging players of all teams to boycott in-person OTAs and is instead pushing for virtual team activities. The crux of the argument comes from a health and safety standpoint. It should be noted that players with any contractual workout bonuses were not urged to sit out.
NFLPA President JC Tretter told players on a call today the union is pushing for an all-virtual offseason — and would urge players to boycott if teams conduct in-person OTAs this spring, per sources.
Said Tretter: “We’ve been telling them, it’s voluntary and we’re not gonna go.”
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 9, 2021
The NFLPA is also pushing for mandatory mini-camps to be virtual as well and many of the players have rallied around this call for action.
The defending Super Bowl champs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, released a statement on behalf of the players explaining that they too would be only attending OTAs virtually. Tom Brady himself has even chimed in on a recent NFLPA conference call recently and vehemently pushed for “‘very intense negotiations” with coaches on modifying offseason work rules as the (NFLPA) continues to push for a boycott, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The Broncos released a similar statement as well earlier this off-season and but many players are still expecting to be there in person, including Patrick Surtain who was quoted saying, “I was going to come up here and play regardless. I’m a rookie, and I don’t have the advantage for me to talk or even miss mini-camp. I don’t have any proven ability to miss mini-camp. I just have to go out here and practice and compete every day and get right with the playbook. There were no plans of missing mini-camp.”
What does all of this mean for the Aaron Rodgers to the Denver Broncos rumormongering? Unfortunately, nothing.
That does not mean that Broncos fans should give up on the hope that Rodgers ends up wearing orange and blue, but this should not be the source of fuel used for the hype machine. Even if Adam Schefter keeps dropping Broncos Country these tasty tweets.
It’s notable that, until now, throughout his career, Aaron Rodgers has been a regular participant in the Packers’ offseason program and OTAs. https://t.co/g5sEMganIe
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 24, 2021
There will be many veiled inferences made because of this news and the social media sphere will run with it, as is the way of the modern world, but the facts can remain separate and true. Aaron Rodgers is not happy in Green Bay and opting out of OTAs shows his desire to see change the process; it is not any sort of personal statement.
