Getty Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers speaks with the media following their 30-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field on December 06, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Have Aaron Rodgers and Denver Broncos team president John Elway been spending some time together on the golf course? Depends on which Broncos insider you ask.
A connection was drawn between Rodgers and Elway earlier this week when Romi Bean of CBS 4 Denver said on the DNVR Broncos Podcast that she knew “for a fact” that the two have had contact in the past few weeks — which would be a violation of NFL tampering rules — and even recently played golf together in California.
“I know that has happened even though that’s tampering or whatever, but how else does John Elway woo guys but on the golf course?” Bean told DNVR. “I actually have this story corroborated on two different sides, which is pretty wild. One is from someone in the golf world who booked the rounds, which is verified. And the other end by chance I had a friend whose friends were playing at this club that weekend and John and Aaron came up and played poker with them, so corroborated on two sides and no one is talking about that.”
Well, people are talking now, and not in a way that supports Bean’s depiction of events. According to fellow Broncos insider Benjamin Albright of KOAColorado, there was a meeting at the same golf course between the two quarterback legends, but it was not a planned encounter and they only “exchanged pleasantries.” That meeting also occurred back in February.
Basically Elway and Aaron Rodgers bumped into each other in passing at the same course back in February. Exchanged pleasantries.
Was not a planned thing, was not them "playing together."
Audio will be up soon at: https://t.co/9TdcTJoUOv https://t.co/pyCk2C9SlV
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) May 20, 2021
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No New Momentum Behind Rodgers Trade Potential
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke things open on April 29 when he first reported about Rodgers’ unhappiness with the Green Bay Packers organization. The Packers have since acknowledged the issue without specifying too much about the situation, while the fans have been left in a sort of limbo that involves daily hot takes and guesstimations from former Packers greats.
As of now, though, there is no telling whether the Packers and Rodgers have come closer together over the past few weeks. Rodgers has not breathed a public word about the situation other than to tell NBC’s Mike Tirico he was “disappointed that news has come out of this rift with the Packers” on May 1 at the Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile, the Packers have been optimistic at every turn and insisted they have no intention of considering trades for Rodgers.
Short of some unforeseen resolution emerging, the next big date for fans on Packers QB Watch will come next Monday when Rodgers is due to make an appearance on Kenny Mayne’s final episode of “SportsCenter” alongside a star-studded list of other guests. Will the three-time NFL MVP actually clear things up about the situation? Will Rodgers pull something savvier and say something without saying something, as he’s done in the past?
The show is scheduled to air on ESPN at 10 p.m. CT on May 24. Otherwise, June 8 becomes the next important milestone with the Packers set to begin their mandatory minicamp that day.
Packers Reportedly Suspicious of Tampering
A disputed meeting between Rodgers and Elway isn’t the first time tampering has been alleged this offseason. Back on May 5, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported sources had told him the Packers were “upset” that teams may have contacted their future Hall of Fame quarterback against league rules to “gauge whether he’d be interested in playing for them.” He also stated the Broncos and San Francisco 49ers were believed to be among the tampering teams.
“A league source said the Packers have not filed charges with the NFL because they know it’s nearly impossible to prove,” Demovsky wrote. “The Packers found that out when they filed a charge against the Vikings in 2008 for tampering with Favre.”