© Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a dashing touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Bears on Oct. 17, 2021, at Soldier field. The Packers received 24-14. On the day Aaron Rodgers checked into working towards camp, comfortably thawing his icy relationship with the green Bay Packers and ending what had been a spring and summer of strategic silence, he met with beat newshounds and spilled his options.
Rodgers spoke that afternoon for 31 minutes, answered 21 questions and did so with admirable candor. He turned into engaged within the back-and-forth and provided precise responses to pressing questions.
He defined his feelings concerning the disgruntlement he had felt toward management, exceptionally established supervisor Brian Gutekunst. He expressed his desire to have greater enter within the method the company sets its path. He came across as forthright, frank and wholly assured in his stances.
He sounded like a leader.
four weeks later, however, in the 18th minute of an in any other case events preseason news conference, Rodgers made a calculated decision to guide around the certainty. Ryan timber of the eco-friendly Bay Press-Gazette asked him at once about his vaccination reputation.
timber: Aaron, you've got spoke of you want to study as many issues as which you could to cling in any dialog. Are you vaccinated and what's your stance on vaccinations?
Rodgers: Yeah, I've been immunized. There's a lot of dialog round it across the league. And lots of guys who have made statements and not made statements. owners who have made statements. There are guys on the group who haven't been vaccinated. I feel it's a personal resolution. I'm now not going to decide those guys. There are guys who were vaccinated who have shrunk COVID. So it's an interesting subject that we're going to look play out the entire season.
the world discovered Wednesday morning that Rodgers hadn't been somewhat so truthful with that response, that he both outright lied about his popularity or made an additional effort to hide the certainty. Rodgers established advantageous for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the Tribune demonstrated, and the Packers instantly announced he will omit Sunday's video game towards the Kansas city Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium because of this.
as the join-the-dots graphic got here into view, it promptly became clear Rodgers' Week 9 availability turned into suffering from his vaccination popularity. As in, he continues to be unvaccinated. contrary to what he insinuated at the conclusion of August.
several national retailers, together with NFL community and ESPN, pronounced Wednesday that Rodgers is still unvaccinated and has been regarded as such with the aid of the league on account that the season started.
Whoa. What a bombshell. On so many levels.
And so many new questions deserve to be answered.
Why, for example, had Rodgers been untruthful Aug. 26 when asked about his vaccination popularity?
To what extent has the Packers organization aided — or as a minimum grew to become the opposite direction from — Rodgers' viable violations of NFL COVID-19 protocol policies?
What repercussions might there be from this unusual saga?
And when will Rodgers communicate once more to reporters, either performing damage manage or making an attempt to clarify his ordinary prevarication?
Video: Rapoport: Rodgers noted he had been 'immunized,' however isn't vaccinated for COVID-19 (NFL)
Rapoport: Rodgers talked about he had been 'immunized,' however is not vaccinated for COVID-19
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For the "It's his company and no person else's" crowd related to the vaccine, smartly, that argument doesn't cling up here. The Packers, 7-1 and in possession of the NFC's No. 1 seed for the playoffs, now head to Kansas city, Mo. this weekend for a key midseason video game with out the reigning league MVP. Their offense continues to be in disarray because of this.
Rodgers can't play. Third-string quarterback Kurt Benkert is still out after his personal fine test. And Jordan Love, the projected starter for now, will have to spend the arrival days hoping he doesn't return an sick-timed high quality test that might force him out Sunday as smartly.
Blake Bortles, who spent time with the Packers throughout training camp, flew to eco-friendly Bay on Wednesday to join the team's practice squad. he is anticipated to get multiplied to the 53-man roster and function Love's backup in opposition t the Chiefs.
through league rule, as an unvaccinated player who has proven positive for COVID-19, Rodgers need to remain out for not less than 10 days. That capacity he'll omit all of next week's practices, too, because the Packers put together to play host to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 14.
In a hotly contested NFC playoff race, one little stumble may well be the difference between getting the convention's simplest first-circular bye plus domestic-field potential right through the postseason or having to go on the street as early as the divisional circular, perhaps to face the los angeles Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Dallas Cowboys or Arizona Cardinals.
through that lens, it's no longer a stretch to assert Rodgers' very own choice to remain unvaccinated towards COVID-19 may have an effect on an entire company's championship hopes, perhaps at the same time as lots as, say, a choice to kick a container intention on fourth-and-intention from the eight whereas down eight points with barely two minutes final.
Rodgers hasn't been capable of get again to the tremendous Bowl for greater than a decade now. He and the Packers have misplaced the NFC championship video game in two consecutive seasons. This very smartly could be the quarterback's remaining possibility to win a Lombardi Trophy while in green Bay. And now there's this November surprise to complicate every little thing.
At Halas corridor on Wednesday, Chicago Bears vast receiver Allen Robinson reacted to the news that shook the NFL. "COVID remains around," Robinson pointed out. "And people are still catching it."
asked how he may react if a teammate lied about or hid his vaccination popularity, as Rodgers seems to have carried out, Robinson took a second to accept as true with his response.
"That's hard to say," he stated. "If I needed to guess, his teammates and individuals around him probably knew that (all alongside). I don't feel anyone is just too upset about that over there as a result of I believe the americans who are within the know up there probably knew every little thing they obligatory to understand prior to (Wednesday)."
The Bears, of route, have had their own COVID-19 issues to deal with. teach Matt Nagy, after returning a positive examine Oct. 25, become forced to dwell domestic for Sunday's 33-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Nagy nonetheless hasn't returned to in-person actions at Halas hall.
all over a stretch in October, six Bears avid gamers wound up on the league's reserve/COVID-19 listing while two coaches and a support workforce member also tested high-quality for the virus.
five Bears have neglected at the least one video game this season as a result of COVID-19 guidelines, including offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson, who changed into placed on the reserve/COVID-19 checklist as an unvaccinated excessive-chance shut contact on the morning of the Week 7 video game in Tampa, Fla. Later that afternoon, the on-field ripple outcomes had been seen relatively straight away.
own choices, in spite of everything, can have enormous consequences with noteworthy reach.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it wasn't widespread even if Rodgers turned into experiencing indicators from the coronavirus. the percentages continue to be powerful that he could be utterly fit once more reasonably promptly.
ESPN reported Wednesday that Rodgers sought and used an unspecified choice medication for COVID-19, later petitioning the league to have that authorised as an alternative choice to being vaccinated. That inspiration, in accordance with the file, changed into rejected and Rodgers become suggested he can be recognized as unvaccinated going into the 2021 season.
There's a separate argument to be made that the NFL's 2021 rules related to COVID-19 and the differing protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated people remain somewhat arbitrary. perhaps so. however those directives had been in region because the summer. And with Rodgers amongst a minority of NFL gamers — the league mentioned last week that ninety four.1% of gamers are vaccinated — his gamble has produced a significant setback. For himself and his group.
His unwillingness to be honest on the depend also registers as both extraordinary and slightly flaky.
The Packers performed Thursday nighttime's game in opposition t the Arizona Cardinals with out celebrity receiver Davante Adams, who verified positive for COVID-19 ultimate week. Fellow receiver Allen Lazard turned into pressured to omit the video game as a result of his unvaccinated status, deemed a high-risk shut contact.
The Packers dug deep and received anyway.
however their hurdle for Week 9 grew to be considerably bigger Wednesday with Rodgers declared out.
It might be as much as Packers coaches and avid gamers to decide no matter if Rodgers owes them an apology. at the very least, Rodgers has a lot of explaining to do together with his sincerity and credibility now justifiably in query.
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