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The Green Bay Packers have officially begun their 2021 organized team activities without their franchise quarterback.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Aaron Rodgers did not report Monday to Lambeau Field for the Packers’ first day of voluntary OTA in a move that team was anticipating after he skipped the first two phases of their offseason program. Rodgers has argued against the necessity of OTAs in the past, but his absence is noteworthy given he has been a regular participant in offseason work during his first 16 seasons.
Rodgers’ relationship with the Packers has been a subject of controversy over the past few weeks ever since ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on April 29 that Rodgers had told some within the organization he did not intend to return to the team in 2021. The Packers have publicly acknowledged aspects of their dispute with Rodgers, but they have also continually touted optimism when asked about his future.
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Rodgers’ Absence Might Not Be Foreboding
While some might take Rodgers’ no-show on the first day as a sign of trouble or deeper proof of the rift between him and the organization, there are a handful of reasons that could explain why Rodgers was not present in Green Bay on Monday.
For starters, Rodgers is not required to participate in the majority of the Packers’ offseason program, including the voluntary OTAs that will take place on various days between now and June 18. The only team activity that mandates Rodgers’ attendance is the three-day minicamp that will run from June 8-10, and the Packers can slap him with as much as $90,000 in fines if he does not show.
There is also the fact that Rodgers was vacationing in Hawaii with his fiancée, actress Shailene Woodley this past weekend. He could be seen laughing, dancing, playing guitar and generally having a good time in a video that Akoni, a hit Hawaiian musician, shared to his Instagram account on Sunday night.
Now, it would be naive to think Rodgers, a longtime professional athlete familiar with how NFL offseasons are scheduled, would accidentally book a vacation right before the start of OTAs, but it is possible a specific event (a wedding, perhaps?) took him to Hawaii. Again, Rodgers is missing voluntary portions of the offseason and is the senior-most member of the Packers’ roster.
Could it develop into something more troubling? Sure, but give it until Rodgers starts missing mandatory workouts to mash the panic button. (Or at least until after he makes his appearance on Kenny Mayne’s final episode of SportsCenter on Monday at 10 p.m. CT, where he may or may not address the persistent rumors about his future).
Jordan Love Takes Center Stage in OTAs
If there is a positive to be taken from Rodgers’ first-day absence, it is that the Packers now have a golden opportunity to evaluate how effectively Jordan Love, their prized 2020 first-round draft pick, can run their offense when rolling with the first team.
Love was robbed of a traditional NFL offseason as well as preseason games last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting his exposure as a rookie to a handful of practices during training camp that saw him paired primarily with second- and third-team players. He was also essentially given a redshirt year to learn the offense in 2020 and saw no playing time as the third-string quarterback behind Rodgers and former backup Tim Boyle.
Now, Love is the natural choice to take over as the Packers’ first-team quarterback in OTAs for as long as Rodgers stays away and could use the time to develop stronger chemistry with some of the team’s current starters. That’s what happened with Rodgers and Hall of Fame predecessor Brett Favre, as former Packers executive Andrew Brandt pointed out on Twitter on Monday while saying it gave him some “deja vu:”
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