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Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was one of four players that spoke to the media Wednesday. Rodgers has attempted all week to pivot the discussion from last week's Bleacher Report article, which detailed his grievances with former coach Mike McCarthy.
Rodgers declined to say if he has spoken with his former coach since the article was released, though, he did say that he has spoken to McCarthy since his firing.
Rodgers also reiterated several remarks he made earlier in the week before trying to turn the conversation to new Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. In an interview with ESPN Milwaukee on Monday, Rodgers called the article a “smear attack” and refuted several specific claims made by former players. On Wednesday, in a press conference after the team's first official activities of the year, the 35-year-old quarterback doubled down on those statements.
“I stand by everything that I said,” Rodgers said in a video posted to NFL.com.
Rodgers did emphasize again how much it meant to him that so many of his current — and, most importantly, former — teammates came to his defense. While one could argue that current Packers teammates have their best interests to think about before speaking candidly about their quarterback, former teammates have no such concerns.
Article Continues Below“I said it on the show and I meant it: It has been a great week,” Rodgers said. “I've heard from 100-plus former teammates and coaches, and current teammates and coaches. And that's fun, especially some of the guys you haven't heard from in awhile checking in and encouraging you. So that's great. This game is all about relationships.”
Rodgers addressed his critics as well
Rodgers was also asked about his relationship with former teammates Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley, both of whom are quoted in the article, and not in a friendly manner.
“During our time together, we spent a lot of time like I said on the show, talking the night before games with Jermichael about plays that he liked and route adjustments and signals, and stuff to be aware of,” Rodgers said. “Greg, the same thing. There wasn't, like I said, if there were any issues during our time playing together, I would just cross the locker room.”
“I enjoy those kinds of conversations, I really do. The locker room is about building relationships and I felt great about those when they were in Green Bay.”
Whatever your opinion of the Packers quarterback and how he handled the fallout of the article, it’s hard to deny that he led us down this road a little bit. His unhappiness was evident at times last season, and we now operate in a world that digs up all that previously laid underneath and brings it to the surface.
To his credit, though, Rodgers has handled the situation as well as anyone can, and still has the backing of many former players, as well as his current teammates. Now, it's time to get back to winning after back-to-back losing seasons. The team made the playoffs in eight straight seasons prior, and Rodgers acknowledged he and the team as a whole need to do better.
