Packer Central

LaFleur Explains Why Packers Released Amari Rodgers, Kylin Hill

Two members of the Green Bay Packers' 2021 draft class, Amari Rodgers and Kylin Hill, were released on Tuesday.

Bill Huber

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – For completely different reasons, the Green Bay Packers have given up on two promising members of their 2021 draft class, with the team releasing third-round receiver Amari Rodgers and seventh-round running back Kylin Hill on Tuesday.

One of those transactions hurt more than the others.

In the case of Rodgers, it was a draft pick that just wasn’t reaching expectations and had lost his role on the team following yet another fumbled punt return.

“Amari, that one hurts a lot just in terms of I know how much this meant to him, and he did everything we asked him to do,” coach Matt LaFleur explained on Tuesday. “He was a great teammate, he works his tail off. You could see him really growing just in terms of overall knowledge, but we are in a production-based business. It’s unfortunate, it truly is. I feel for him. He’s a guy that I’ve got a lot of respect for and care for deeply.”

LaFleur was hopeful that Rodgers would get another opportunity.

“Sometimes,” LaFleur said, “that’s the best thing for guys in this league, is you go through a little adversity, you get a fresh start somewhere else. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Hill was released for reasons that had nothing to do with performance or the recovery from last year’s torn ACL. The Packers are a team and Hill, stuck behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the depth chart, wasn’t being a team player.

“Being a member of the Green Bay Packers, it’s a privilege, and there’s standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to,” LaFleur said.

“I realize he is in a loaded room but, regardless of your role – no matter how big or how small – we expect guys to come to work and just be supportive and own that role to the best of their ability. When you don’t do that, this is what happens.”

Rodgers was billed as a “complete football player” after the draft but he made zero impact in about 1 2/3 seasons. He started only one game on offense – last year’s game at Arizona when Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were out – and finished his abbreviated time in Green Bay with almost as many fumbles (seven) as receptions (eight).

Rodgers, who was benched after fumbling a punt vs. Dallas, has more fumbles than every other receiver, running back or tight end drafted in 2021. In fact, he has more than twice as many fumbles than every one of those players other than Cleveland’s Demetric Felton (five).

The Packers moved up in the third round to select Rodgers and made him the 13th receiver off the board. The 85th overall selection, Rodgers is tied for 18th in the class with eight receptions. Among the players the Packers bypassed: receivers Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown. The 89th pick by Houston, Collins has 56 career receptions. The 112th pick by Detroit, St. Brown has emerged as a star with 139 career receptions.

Hill was the 19th of 20 running backs selected. Opportunities were fleeting in a backfield headed by Jones and Dillon. Hill suffered a torn ACL when returning a kickoff at Arizona last season and made his 2022 debut with one carry vs. Detroit. Against Dallas, he played five snaps on special teams.

Early last week, with Jones looking iffy for the Dallas game with an ankle injury, LaFleur said Hill had “been locked in. I thought he had a nice run the other day. That was good to just get that first carry out of the way and so we’ll get a good look at him throughout the week in practice.”

The moves created two open roster spots. One, logically went to running back Patrick Taylor, who was promoted from the practice squad and into the No. 3 role in the backfield. The other could go to receiver Randall Cobb, who has been designated for return from injured reserve.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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