Getty Kurt Benkert #7 of the Green Bay Packers scrambles with the football against John Franklin-Myers #91 of the New York Jets in the first half against during a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 21, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Kurt Benkert might only be the Green Bay Packers’ practice-squad quarterback, but he is calling out falsehoods in the media at an Aaron Rodgers level.
Benkert took to Twitter on Friday evening to call out NBC Sports’ Mike Florio for his “s*** journalism,” screenshotting one of the national NFL reporter’s recent stories for Pro Football Talk in which he (incorrectly) wrote that “the Packers didn’t have a quarterback on the practice squad before the starter tested positive.”
Florio also used his bad information to pose an unnecessary connection to Rodgers’ status as an unvaccinated player and added that it is “not implausible to think that the Packers went with only two quarterbacks on the team because Rodgers insisted that they’d be wasting a spot on a third quarterback, given his belief that his homeopathic treatment would keep him from catching COVID.”
Clearly, Benkert wanted to set the record straight for both him and his teammate.
.@ProFootballTalk this is just shit journalism.
1. Know the facts of a story before you make random ideas up and publish them.
2. It’s unprofessional to put words in people’s mouth.
1.6 M followers w/ 0 attention. Have to do something to get the numbers up I guess.
“This is just s*** journalism,” Benkert wrote, tagging @ProFootballTalk. “!. Know the facts of a story before you make random ideas up and publish them. 2. It’s unprofessional to put words in people’s mouth.”
Florio later responded to thank Benkert for pointing out the mistake and to explain that he had not seen Benkert’s name on the practice-squad roster when he checked for his story, noting that he “forgot” that Benkert was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list one day before Rodgers and, therefore, wasn’t included in the normal roster listing.
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Florio Clapped Back, But Benkert Gets Final Word
Of course, Florio couldn’t just simply apologize and issue a correction. He had to get an extra dig in on Benkert while engaging with the trolls of Twitter and put him down by calling him “a quarterback who has never taken a snap in a regular-season game and who probably never will.” He also kept the same pettiness when he updated his original article to acknowledge the error.
“We apologize for the error,” Florio wrote. “Instead of having two quarterbacks on the team before Rodgers tested positive, the Packers had two quarterbacks plus a practice-squad journeyman who has never taken a snap in a regular-season game.”
Later on past midnight, Florio went back to Twitter to gloat about Benkert blocking his account on Twitter, but Benkert revisited the issue one more time and got the final word — much to the delight of Packers fans who already feel a type of way about Florio.
@ProFootballTalk I’d rather be a career bench warmer then make a living off of shitty content. Cheers 🍻
Benkert has also since updated his Twitter with the title: “Undisputed Heavyweight Twitter Champ.”
Benkert Trending in Right Direction With COVID-19
Since some people evidently don’t have the time to do basic research, Benkert is a 26-year-old quarterback who spent his first three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad and multiple times pushed to be Matt Ryan’s backup quarterback. He signed with the Packers on May 17 during a time when it was unclear if Rodgers would return to the team for the 2021 season and competed in OTAs with veteran Blake Bortles.
Upon Rodgers’ return just before the start of training camp, the Packers opted to keep Benkert over Bortles and Jake Dolegala as their third-stringer behind Rodgers and backup quarterback Jordan Love. He ended up playing in all three of their preseason games — starting in the second game while Love was out with a shoulder injury — and completed 68.8% of his passes (33 of 48) for 300 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Ultimately, the Packers retained Benkert for their practice squad after waiving him during the final roster cutdown on August 31, but they have been careful not to let another team steal him away, listing him as one of their protected practice-squad players in each week of the season prior to him landing on the COVID-19 reserve list. While protecting Benkert could simply be an in-season contingency for their quarterback room, it begs the question of whether the Packers have bigger plans for him in 2022 when they will likely have to choose between Rodgers or Love as their starter and will need a new backup quarterback.
The good news about Benkert’s COVID-19 diagnosis is that he told his Twitter following that Friday was his first day without symptoms. Though his vaccination status — which he has not publically disclosed — will determine, in part, how quickly he can return, Benkert’s improving health would seem to put him one step closer to re-entering the fold for the Packers.
First day no symptoms 🤞🏼