Aaron Rodgers' Sarcasm: 'It's Been One of Those Quiet Offseasons'
Aaron Rodgers’ dry wit was on display again Tuesday when he declared, "It's been one of those quiet offseasons you dream about.”
Rodgers has indeed been fairly quiet, but the rest of the pro football world has been buzzing about his desire to be traded from the Packers and the Packers’ refusal to do so. In the meantime, Rodgers spent two weeks as the guest host of “Jeopardy!” and received additional media attention for spending a week in in Hawaii with his fiancee, actress Shailene Woodley.
The former Cal star sat out the Packers’ mandatory minicamp last week, and everyone is waiting to see whether he will sit out the start of the Packers training camp, which begins on July 27.
Rodgers made one of his few comments about his offseason on Tuesday during a promotional video in advance of the July 6 golf match featuring Rodgers and PGA Tour star Bryson DeChambeau against Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson.
Brian Anderson, who hosted the video, provided the set-up by telling Rodgers:
"You've really kept a low profile this offseason, I've hardly seen your name at all and you haven't hosted any TV shows or been involved in any kind of controversy or anything, it's been a nice, peaceful offseason for you, it sounds like."
Rodgers provided a deadpan response:
"It's been one of those quiet offseasons you dream about, where you can kind of just go through your process on your own, quietly. And that's all you can ask for as an older player in the league and someone who's been around for a long time and just enjoys that time to yourself, just relax, to not be bothered, to not have any obligations or anything going on.
"I think that's what this offseason has been about. It's been about really enjoying my time and spending it where I want to spend it not feeling like I have to go anywhere but still be an NFL player at the same time. It's been great."
Rodgers wore a T-shirt that read "I'm offended," and it’s unclear whether that was a response to Packers president Mark Murphy saying Rodgers is a “complicated fella.”
Rodgers is subject to $93,085 in fines for missing the minicamp and will lose $500,000 in possible bonuses for missing the entire offseason program.
The heavy fines will start if Rodgers holds out during the training camp.
Rodgers, 37, won his third NFL MVP award in 2020, and if he does get traded before the start of the 2021 season, he would become the first MVP in NFL history to play for a different team the following season.
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