Is Rodgers All In?

[OldSchool101]

For the umpteenth time, those new receivers still have to learn the basic concepts of the Packers offense in OTAs and minicamp. There's no need for Rodgers to explain them the fine nuances of it as they wouldn't understand anyway.



It was pretty obvious why Rodgers missed OTAs last season. I don't know about the reasons behind him not being there this year and honestly I don't care.



It doesn't matter why the Niners skipped OTA practices last season. They didn't think it was important enough and still were able to beat the Packers in the playoffs. That should work as evidence that you put way too much stock into the importance of them.



What???



My point is, that aside of major injuries, OTAs have close to no effect on a team's success.



If the Packers desperately wanted Rodgers to show up for OTAs they should have included a huge workout bonus in his contract.



I'm absolutely convinced MLF and Rodgers have had discussions about the playbook, even with him not showing up for OTAs.
Rodgers showed up for every single OTA practice from 2011 until '20. Yet the Packers didn't win the Super Bowl during any of these seasons either.
I expect Rodgers to play better than he did vs. the Niners in the playoffs as well. It's bogus to believe he struggled because he didn't show up for OTAs though.

See. I actually appreciate all these defenses you are raising concerning Rodgers lack of commitment because they awkwardly prove what I’ve said all along. I don’t blame you for Rodgers not living up to his rhetorical dialogue, it’s not your fault at all.

Rodgers always talks about this 55/45 rule and it was himself that said he’s 100% committed. Commitment goes past saying rhetorical words. At absolute minimum, Aaron Rodgers actions are not consistent with his words. If he doesn’t want to show up that’s his prerogative idk..you have me confused with thinking that in itself OTA’s will win a SB. I’m way past that brother.
It’s Rodgers occasional display of lack of FULL commitment that I’m more concerned than it is a couple days of film study.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I 100% know this much. Whatever we did last year didn’t work and Aaron Rodgers was partly to blame.


Now if you want another regular season MVP accolade and nothing more? Keep doing what you are doing.

This might sound harsh or possibly even an egregious level of cruelty to you. It’s probably going to knock you off your rocker.

I expect more from Aaron Rodgers

You nailed it OldSchool. I too expect more from AR, and that includes something as easy as attending OTAs if only to meet the new players. He's the leader of the band, right? And in team activities, you don't ask other people to do what you won't.

Is it a big deal? Probably not. It almost certainly won't affect the season outcome. I spent most of my life in business, mostly sales. We'd have meetings during the year and the head of sales would always pop in, even if it was just for the cocktail hour. He or she wanted to meet the people on their team. It makes a difference, however subtle.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Hey everyone - seems we've worked this issue of Rodgers not being at OTAs to death. Can we agree to shut down this forum? I think we've all made out positions clear

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Management must be ok with it because some activities are voluntary. That's their call.

Management has no choice, it was part of the Collective Bargaining agreement. Teams have put large incentives into players contracts, to entice them to be at the OTA's. Rodgers contract, which he obviously orchestrated with his agent, only paid him $50K to be at OTA's. His previous contract $500K...quite a difference. MLF has already spoken out and said that he really wished all of his players were there.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Hey everyone - seems we've worked this issue of Rodgers not being at OTAs to death. Can we agree to shut down this forum? I think we've all made out positions clear

Probably best to leave it open, Captain still disagrees and might want to weigh in. Plus, if Rodgers is still playing next season, we may have to revisit the topic again.

Also, I believe OTA's start back up again and I am guessing Rodgers won't want to get in the way of the rest of the team learning things. So after the 3 mandatory days that he has to be there, I assume he will leave Green Bay and leave all the heavy lifting to his teammates.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Right. Why have them at all then? Why are vets showing up for them? Why did Rodgers show up for them every year prior to 2021? I trust a process that has been in place for a long time over a fans speculation that OTA's have close to no effect on a teams success. Why offer money to these guys to attend, GM's should be fired for mishandling of funds!

OTAs are important for rookies, free agent signings and players on the roster bubble to learn the basic concepts of the offense or defense and to get a chance to make an impression on the coaching staff. It's nice to have veterans there as well but it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference once training camp rolls around.

Who said they were desperate?

I didn't.

Hell, by your comments, why pay guys to come to OTA's if they don't do much for the success of the team? Sounds like a big waste of money, yet the Packers led the league in how much they paid out in OTA money last season ($5,065,000 to 19 players in 2021). BTW, this isn't paid out to rookies and youngsters to "learn their routes", this is money paid to vets to show up. Guys like Za’darius Smith were desired to attend OTA's, his bonus was $750K last season.

I'm fine with the Packers including workout bonuses in the contracts of veterans creating incentives for them to show up. You don't understand that I would prefer everyone to show up for OTAs as well but I don't consider it will make or break a season if some of them don't.

See. I actually appreciate all these defenses you are raising concerning Rodgers lack of commitment because they awkwardly prove what I’ve said all along.

The only thing that's awkward is you coming up with those conclusions.

If he doesn’t want to show up that’s his prerogative idk..you have me confused with thinking that in itself OTA’s will win a SB. I’m way past that brother.

Once again you completely missed the point. My point is that Rodgers not showing up for OTAs will have absolutely no effect on if the Packers make it to the Super Bowl or not. I'm not suggested that you believe him participating in offseason practices would automatically result in them making it to the Super Bowl.

Probably best to leave it open, Captain still disagrees and might want to weigh in.

I'm not the only one disagreeing with your opinion.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

It's nice to have veterans there as well but it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference once training camp rolls around.

This statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense, what does it mean?

Your opinion doesn't match up with the philosophy of a team spending over $5 million to try and incentivize 19 veteran players to show up to OTA's. The Packers head coach also disagrees with you, saying that he would like every player there.

Your whole argument for Rodgers not being at OTA's centers around your notion that it would do nothing to improve the team by him being there. Yet, he and other veterans have participated in them for years and this goes for the rest of the NFL too. Teams continue to pay players to show up, in an effort to improve. If OTA's only help rookies and free agents, why do teams/coaches even want or pay the vets to show up? That isn't a rhetorical question, I really would like your opinion on this. You complain about the money spent on Crosby, when by your opinion of OTA's, you should be making a case to drop workout bonuses for vet players. That alone would save the Packers $5+ million.

I'm not the only one disagreeing with your opinion.

You seem to be alone on this island, but maybe you are reading an article that shares your opinion? Would love to read it, if you will share.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Probably best to leave it open, Captain still disagrees and might want to weigh in. Plus, if Rodgers is still playing next season, we may have to revisit the topic again.

Also, I believe OTA's start back up again and I am guessing Rodgers won't want to get in the way of the rest of the team learning things. So after the 3 mandatory days that he has to be there, I assume he will leave Green Bay and leave all the heavy lifting to his teammates.

Sounds good. It is an issue that extends beyond the initial OTAs and mini camp.

This statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense, what does it mean?

Your opinion doesn't match up with the philosophy of a team spending over $5 million to try and incentivize 19 veteran players to show up to OTA's. The Packers head coach also disagrees with you, saying that he would like every player there.

Your whole argument for Rodgers not being at OTA's centers around your notion that it would do nothing to improve the team by him being there. Yet, he and other veterans have participated in them for years and this goes for the rest of the NFL too. Teams continue to pay players to show up, in an effort to improve. If OTA's only help rookies and free agents, why do teams/coaches even want or pay the vets to show up? That isn't a rhetorical question, I really would like your opinion on this. You complain about the money spent on Crosby, when by your opinion of OTA's, you should be making a case to drop workout bonuses for vet players. That alone would save the Packers $5+ million.


You seem to be alone on this island, but maybe you are reading an article that shares your opinion? Would love to read it, if you will share.

Poker you make a good point that the front office sees the value in having vets show up at OTAs, enough that it dishes out the easiest $5 mil they'll ever make. At least Rodgers has skipped them this year and last, and I think one or two other players. Not a lot.

While I don't think it matters as far as the outcome of the season (and to that extent I agree with Cap), I think it just shows TEAM cohesion when vets show up, especially the leader of the team, Rodgers.

Now I don't expect Rodgers to be out there throwing to the new guys. They have to learn the playbook first and that takes more than two weeks. Rodgers appearance would lift the rookies, especially the WRs. Some of these guys probably watched Rodgers while they were still in grade school. He's a ****ing legend. So for that reason, I think he should have been there.

 

[Heyjoe4]

So while I know Rodgers is all in this year, what about after this year? He's be paid $59 mil if he plays next year, and $40 mil the year after that. It's a strange contract in that the dead money increases the longer he plays. I admit I don't get it.

This makes me think that this will be Rodgers' last year. I might be wrong, but do the Packers really want to pay close to $100 mil for a 40 year-old QB? If he keeps playing like the last two years, I'd guess yes. The cap is gonna go up.

What do my fellow experts think? And are my assumptions correct? Thanks all.

 

[Mondio]

He's definitely at a point where he may retire at the end of any of these seasons and it shouldn't come as a surprise. I've been year to year these past 2 seasons already in my expectations for the most part, one day it's going to happen.

 

[longtimefan]

Rogers has new gf

is he all in with her? Like shalene who he was engaged?

or Danika who he bout a 25 mill house

or oliva who he was with for 2 years

i give new girl (the witch) 8 months

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Rogers has new gf

is he all in with her? Like shalene who he was engaged?

or Danika who he bout a 25 mill house

or oliva who he was with for 2 years

i give new girl (the witch) 8 months

She seems to be...built differently than his 3 previous. I can't put my finger on what it is, but she appears to be in good shape with those big hearthy....lungs.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Deleted member 6794]

This statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense, what does it mean?

Your opinion doesn't match up with the philosophy of a team spending over $5 million to try and incentivize 19 veteran players to show up to OTA's. The Packers head coach also disagrees with you, saying that he would like every player there.

Your whole argument for Rodgers not being at OTA's centers around your notion that it would do nothing to improve the team by him being there. Yet, he and other veterans have participated in them for years and this goes for the rest of the NFL too. Teams continue to pay players to show up, in an effort to improve. If OTA's only help rookies and free agents, why do teams/coaches even want or pay the vets to show up? That isn't a rhetorical question, I really would like your opinion on this. You complain about the money spent on Crosby, when by your opinion of OTA's, you should be making a case to drop workout bonuses for vet players. That alone would save the Packers $5+ million.

Once again, I think veterans showing up for OTAs has the potential to slightly improve the team but you completely overestimate by how much.

Don't fool yourself that teams could have saved the money paid in workout bonuses. I'm quite sure close to all players would have asked to receive that money as part of their base salary instead.

You seem to be alone on this island, but maybe you are reading an article that shares your opinion? Would love to read it, if you will share.

Maybe you need to take a closer look, there are several other posters agreeing with me that Rodgers not showing up for OTAs in a non-issue.

So while I know Rodgers is all in this year, what about after this year? He's be paid $59 mil if he plays next year, and $40 mil the year after that. It's a strange contract in that the dead money increases the longer he plays. I admit I don't get it.

This makes me think that this will be Rodgers' last year. I might be wrong, but do the Packers really want to pay close to $100 mil for a 40 year-old QB? If he keeps playing like the last two years, I'd guess yes. The cap is gonna go up.

What do my fellow experts think? And are my assumptions correct? Thanks all.

As long as Rodgers decides to play in 2023 his base salary ($1.165 million) and more importantly his option bonus ($58.3 million) are fully guaranteed. Therefore the Packers can't release him next offseason but could trade him to another team, resulting in $40.3 million of dead money counting against their cap.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Once again, I think veterans showing up for OTAs has the potential to slightly improve the team but you completely overestimate by how much.

Don't fool yourself that teams could have saved the money paid in workout bonuses. I'm quite sure close to all players would have asked to receive that money as part of their base salary instead.



Maybe you need to take a closer look, there are several other posters agreeing with me that Rodgers not showing up for OTAs in a non-issue.



As long as Rodgers decides to play in 2023 his base salary ($1.165 million) and more importantly his option bonus ($58.3 million) are fully guaranteed. Therefore the Packers can't release him next offseason but could trade him to another team, resulting in $40.3 million of dead money counting against their cap.

Thanks for the financial details on Rodgers Cap. If the Packers do trade him at the end of this season, the acquiring team has to pay that $59 mil, right?

Another question - what if he decides to retire at the end of this season? Is the dead cap $59 mil plus $40 mil (or close to $100 mil total)?

 

[OldSchool101]

I'm not the only one disagreeing with your opinion.

Just a neutral thought. You know how we always talk about “rose colored glasses” right? For just a second. Think about how this Rodgers stuff looks to fans of other teams or even people who are not NFL fans. He gets paid sick amounts of money and he acts like he’s all unhappy. He calls it the “grind” and himself said that “grind” is enough for him to walk away from the game.

I would argue the vast majority of people in general can’t sympathize with Aaron Rodgers at all. They can’t relate to a guy getting paid $50,000,000 a year who’s still complaining (in his own way). I think those that defend that thankless attitude are a large majority over us Packer favs that do our best to defend it. I have far more sympathy and support for a housewife who is taking care of children than I do Aaron Rodgers almost incessant whining
It’s ok to like the team and not necessarily agree with every players position on topics. There’s several players im sure you would NOT catch me dead hanging out with. I still support the team though, if that makes any sense.

I'm absolutely fine with constructive criticsm of Rodgers but as I mentioned yesterday there are fans who go to great lengths to talk negatively about him, something I don't agree with.

Over the years I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Aaron Rodgers has brought scrutiny on himself. While people can overindulge on his drama, the meat of his problems are self induced. I’ll go as far as to say he’s not nearly as happy as he portrays. He’s got some deep seeded regrets and it might even be what propels him, but that propelling can be distorted in choppy water.

The OTA stuff is minuscule compared to getting his head right off the field, but it would be a fantastic start had he done that.

You’ve got to start somewhere when it comes to relationship building (or rebuilding) it has zero to do with what’s minimally required. I could care less about the physical part of OTA’s, but the message he sent was enormous and no! Randall Cobb is NOT your spokesman, nor is it his responsibility to "cover" for you. Step up and be a man and speak for yourself Aaron

 

[Heyjoe4]

Just a neutral thought. You know how we always talk about “rose colored glasses” right? For just a second. Think about how this Rodgers stuff looks to fans of other teams or even people who are not NFL fans. He gets paid sick amounts of money and he acts like he’s all unhappy. He calls it the “grind” and himself said that “grind” is enough for him to walk away from the game.

I would argue the vast majority of people in general can’t sympathize with Aaron Rodgers at all. They can’t relate to a guy getting paid $50,000,000 a year who’s still complaining (in his own way). I think those that defend that thankless attitude are a large majority over us Packer favs that do our best to defend it. I have far more sympathy and support for a housewife who is taking care of children than I do Aaron Rodgers almost incessant whining
It’s ok to like the team and not necessarily agree with every players position on topics. There’s several players im sure you would NOT catch me dead hanging out with. I still support the team though, if that makes any sense.

Over the years I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Aaron Rodgers has brought scrutiny on himself. While people can overindulge on his drama, the meat of his problems are self induced. I’ll go as far as to say he’s not nearly as happy as he portrays. He’s got some deep seeded regrets and it might even be what propels him, but that propelling can be distorted in choppy water.

The OTA stuff is minuscule compared to getting his head right off the field, but it would be a fantastic start had he done that.

You’ve got to start somewhere when it comes to relationship building (or rebuilding) it has zero to do with what’s minimally required. I could care less about the physical part of OTA’s, but the message he sent was enormous and no! Randall Cobb is NOT your spokesman, nor is it his responsibility to "cover" for you. Step up and be a man and speak for yourself Aaron

Yeah I mean he’s the leader of the team, not Cobb. It’s a missed opportunity to make a good impression.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Management has no choice, it was part of the Collective Bargaining agreement. Teams have put large incentives into players contracts, to entice them to be at the OTA's. Rodgers contract, which he obviously orchestrated with his agent, only paid him $50K to be at OTA's. His previous contract $500K...quite a difference. MLF has already spoken out and said that he really wished all of his players were there.

Well I wish he had shown up. My feeling is he’s the leader, there are a lot of new faces, so show up. How hard is it?

 

[rmontro]

Yeah I mean he’s the leader of the team, not Cobb. It’s a missed opportunity to make a good impression.

Maybe he's trying to emulate his buddy and new golf partner, Tom Brady. He didn't attend OTAs either.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Maybe he's trying to emulate his buddy and new golf partner, Tom Brady. He didn't attend OTAs either.

Could be. Although I think Brady is probably a little more set with his WRs. But regardless, my opinion is that everyone should be at OTAs if possible. That said, I'm not gonna lose sleep over the Packers' chances for a Lombardi because AR stayed away. Not that big of a deal.

 

[longtimefan]

Could be. Although I think Brady is probably a little more set with his WRs. But regardless, my opinion is that everyone should be at OTAs if possible. That said, I'm not gonna lose sleep over the Packers' chances for a Lombardi because AR stayed away. Not that big of a deal.

Brady gets ex teamates to follow him

 

[Heyjoe4]

Brady gets ex teamates to follow him

Ain't that the truth. And then he stepped into the perfect situation in TB. TB had been a bottom dweller that built up through the draft and trades. By the time he got there, all TB needed was a QB (OK and a pretty good TE!).

 

[OldSchool101]

Ain't that the truth. And then he stepped into the perfect situation in TB. TB had been a bottom dweller that built up through the draft and trades. By the time he got there, all TB needed was a QB (OK and a pretty good TE!).

Exactly. Many people don’t know that the Tampa Offense ranked #3 in yards for 2 consecutive years before Brady came into the picture. Unfortunately they had an unstable QB room with Winston throwing a league high 30 INT.. Enters Brady.


It was the previous Tampa Defense that couldn’t withstand the constant Turnovers by Jamies Winston. However the D dropped from near last (2018) to a respectable 15th overall (2019). By 2020 the D was on the rise and the stability of Brady, once again, only added to that success. The Tampa D dropped to 8th in scoring (6th in yards) while Brady kept them on a 3rd consecutive season (his 1st) at a #3 scoring Offense (7th yards) and #8 scoring D.

Rodgers has had 2 Packer Defenses similar or better territory and they resulted in a a trip to the playoffs OT loss and then a Lombardi trophy the next year. This year for Rodgers should be one of the top couple of Defenses he’s played with. If he continues playing keep away? He’ll only need about 25-27 points per to be very successful (#4 seed or better) Anything Offensively that possibly starts clicking in that 28+ Pts per? Then I predict GB will be a terror by playoffs and even Tom Brady himself will concede, he’s not just a great golfer.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Thanks for the financial details on Rodgers Cap. If the Packers do trade him at the end of this season, the acquiring team has to pay that $59 mil, right?

Correct.

Another question - what if he decides to retire at the end of this season? Is the dead cap $59 mil plus $40 mil (or close to $100 mil total)?

If Rodgers retires after the 2022 season it would result in $40.3 million of dead money counting against the Packers' cap as he wouldn't be paid the $59 million option bonus due for next season.

For just a second. Think about how this Rodgers stuff looks to fans of other teams or even people who are not NFL fans. He gets paid sick amounts of money and he acts like he’s all unhappy. He calls it the “grind” and himself said that “grind” is enough for him to walk away from the game.

I don't get the impression Rodgers is unhappy at all. In my opinion you wrongly assume that because he didn't show up for OTAs. In addition I fully understand it's a grind for a near 39-year old to prepare for an NFL season.

As a side note, I'm convinced fans of most other teams would be extremely happy if Rodgers was their quarterback. People who aren't fans of the NFL most likely don't care about it at all as they have no idea about OTA practices.

I think those that defend that thankless attitude are a large majority over us Packer favs that do our best to defend it.

I think that overall Packers fans are way more critical of Rodgers than supporters of other teams.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I think that overall Packers fans are way more critical of Rodgers than supporters of other teams.

To a certain level I agree with you, but many of those fans are critical of him for various reasons. Some with very little knowledge of all of the Rodgers history and some with a lot of knowledge of that history. For instance a Bears fan hates Rodgers for what he does to the Bears. That same Bears fan would love to see Rodgers screw the Packers over, since that helps his team. That same Bears fan probably has half the real information that some have on Rodgers. Whereas, I doubt any level headed Packer fan wants to see the Packers screwed by a player and that same fan also recognizes just how valuable of a player Rodgers has been to the Packers since 2008. Some of those fans have a ton of Rodgers knowledge, some very little.

Of course there are the media gurus who may know all the Rodgers background information, but could care less what he did or does on the field, since they as well might not be a Packer fan.

Let's face it, Rodgers is a very polarizing person, we see it here in this forum often. I myself have gone back and forth with how I perceive him and his actions. Much like Favre, as a Packer fan first, I tend to take the bad with the good, but over time, the bad starts wearing you down and it gets to a point where it's difficult to keep overlooking it.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Correct.



If Rodgers retires after the 2022 season it would result in $40.3 million of dead money counting against the Packers' cap as he wouldn't be paid the $59 million option bonus due for next season.



I don't get the impression Rodgers is unhappy at all. In my opinion you wrongly assume that because he didn't show up for OTAs. In addition I fully understand it's a grind for a near 39-year old to prepare for an NFL season.

As a side note, I'm convinced fans of most other teams would be extremely happy if Rodgers was their quarterback. People who aren't fans of the NFL most likely don't care about it at all as they have no idea about OTA practices.



I think that overall Packers fans are way more critical of Rodgers than supporters of other teams.

I can't predict a "what if", but if Rodgers was playing somewhere else, we all would die to have him on the Packers.

And thanks for clarifying the dead cap if Rodgers bails after this year. That's hard to predict, but if he's healthy and has another good season this year, I don't see why he wouldn't come back to pick up $59 mil. I'm assuming the Packers are on the hook for that money even in the unlikely event they waive him or decide to move on from him. (I can't see that happening, but he is 39, so who knows?)

And as for the "grind" of the season - well these guys get paid well to go through that grind, but they also surrender the prime of their lives to do it. Staying in NFL shape is a year-round process. If a player has family, that's hard. Again no one will be starting a GoFundMe page for any of these guys, but given their talent and commitment - and the entertainment t value - I'd say they earn what they're paid.