A lot of coaches have complained the last few years about not getting enough time with the players during the offseason, but that isn't stopping Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy from giving some of the veteran players, including Aaron Rodgers, a few days off from minicamp.
For the third straight year, McCarthy told reporters that he is giving 16 veterans time off because of how they worked earlier in OTAs.
“There are 16 who were given an early start to their summer break,” said McCarthy via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com: “They deserve it where they are in their career, and there's only so many reps throughout the offseason and now the focus will be exclusively for our young players.”
Although McCarthy seems to be saying this is a break for the player, it also is a good opportunity for the Packers to get a really good look at the younger guys.
Last year, the Packers were flat out terrible without Rodgers, and whoever the team decides to have as their backup quarterback is going to need to be better this year. Having a serviceable backup quarterback is important, and when the Packers traded for DeShone Kizer this offseason, they must have seen something they liked.
He will be competing with Brett Hundley for the right to backup Rodgers, and this is a good opportunity to see extra reps from these guys.
Everyone knows what Rodgers is going to bring to the table as long as he stays healthy, so he being at the next few mini caps wasn't important.