Will Rodgers Report for Minicamp? ‘We’ll See Come Tuesday’

If Rodgers skips the mandatory minicamp practices set for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he would be subject to fines up to $93,085.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ absence from the Green Bay Packers’ offseason program has cost him a $500,000 workout bonus.

It could cost him even more money if he skips next week’s mandatory minicamp.

The Packers conducted their fifth organized team activity on Wednesday. Rodgers, in a standoff with the franchise that drafted him in 2005, continues to skip the offseason practices. Because OTAs are voluntary, his absence hasn’t hit him financially.

That will change next week. If Rodgers skips the mandatory minicamp practices set for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he would be subject to fines up to $93,085.

RELATED: PACKERS COULD TRADE RODGERS NOW BUT THEY WON’T

Asked if he expects Rodgers to join his teammates next week, coach Matt LaFleur said, “I don’t know. We’ll see come Tuesday.”

Rodgers is coming off an MVP season and the Packers reached the NFC Championship Game for a second consecutive season. Obviously, the Packers’ hopes of taking the next step and getting back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2010 hinge greatly on Rodgers’ return.

Only nine players on the 90-man roster weren’t on the practice field. Once again, five of them were veteran receivers Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown and Devin Funchess. Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins, Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander and third-year corner Ka’dar Hollman also were absent.

Without Rodgers, Jordan Love took the bulk of the snaps. Blake Bortles and Kurt Benkert split the rest of the snaps.

“It’s important that we have all our guys,” LaFleur said when asked again about Rodgers. “Certainly, we’d love him to be here. Hopefully, we’ll see him Tuesday.”


Published
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.