Rodgers Feels Comfortable with COVID-19 Rules

“At this point, all we can do is try and educate guys and try and be smart about what you’re doing outside the facility,” Rodgers said on Monday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On July 24, the NFL Players Association’s team representatives approved by a 29-3 vote a revised collective bargaining agreement that addressed the new realities surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking via Zoom on Monday, Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ representative, wouldn’t say how he voted but did say he did not consider opting out of the season.

“I was always going to play,” he said.

Turning his attention to receivers past (Geronimo Allison) and present (Devin Funchess) who chose to opt out, Rodgers continued, “I respect any person who decides to opt out. There’s a lot of different circumstances around, I’m sure, each individual case. I know Geronimo has a young child. It’s just a different year, and I respect all those guys who decided to make that decision. Even Devin. We had a conversation before training camp started and he talked to me before it had kind of gone public. I just told I respect his decision. I have a lot of appreciation for how difficult that must be to weigh the love of playing with football with the safety of your family. So, I have an appreciation for that and absolutely zero judgement.”

Before Rodgers spoke, the Packers added long snapper Hunter Bradley to their COVID-19 reserve list, bringing the total to five players under quarantine. With so much uncertainty as NFL camps get under way, and with Major League Baseball running into serious challenges with the Marlins and Cardinals, Rodgers had no interest in discussing hypothetical questions, including whether he thought the season could be completed.

As was the case with general manager Brian Gutekunst on Sunday, Rodgers spoke hopefully about the team’s protocols, which include daily testing and nonstop tracking. “I think it gives us a really good chance,” he said. Rodgers was thankful for the work of his former teammate, Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, who as president of the NFLPA worked with the NFL to create the safety and financial rules to play this season.

Ultimately, it will be up the players, coaches and staff to do the right things, day after day, for the next five or six months. It’s been a point driven home again and again. The fate of the season might depend on it.

“At this point, all we can do is try and educate guys and try and be smart about what you’re doing outside the facility,” Rodgers said. “There’s some things that are out of our control; some things that are in our control. I think there’s a responsibility that goes with it but there’s some things that are really out of your control. It’s hard to speculate at this point what’s going to happen down the road. I feel comfortable being here and comfortable with the rules and protocols in place.

“There’s a lot of accountability on this, responsibility. Again, there’s some things that are out of your control but there is a personal responsibility that goes along with it. That’s part of being a professional. I think, at the same time, you just hope that there’s not that kind of outlier thing that happens to you or anybody that we really need to play on Sundays.”