Aaron Rodgers is not expected on the practice field when the Green Bay Packers open their minicamp Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, making it the first mandatory offseason event that the discontented quarterback will have skipped.
He is subject to $93,085 in fines if he does not show for the entire three-day camp.
Schefter reported Monday that the Packers have discussed giving Rodgers an excused absence, which would then waive the fines. If they don’t, then Rodgers would be fined $15,515 for missing Tuesday, $31,030 for Wednesday and $46,540 for Thursday.
Fines during training camp, meanwhile, run $50,000 per day missed, are mandatory and can’t be rescinded.
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Rodgers already has missed enough of the offseason program to forfeit his $500,000 workout bonus.
The Packers have been working throughout the offseason to mend the relationship with Rodgers but to no avail. He skipped the phase one virtual offseason workouts and has not attended any of the first two weeks of OTA practices.
Packers president Mark Murphy reiterated over the weekend that he, general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur continue to work toward a solution to bring Rodgers back into the fold.
“As I wrote here last month, we remain committed to resolving things with Aaron and want him to be our quarterback in 2021 and beyond,” Murphy wrote Saturday on the team’s website. “We are working to resolve the situation and realize that the less both sides say publicly, the better.”
News of Rodgers’ unhappiness with the Packers became public April 29, when Schefter reported that he has told some members of the organization that he did not want to return to the team. In his only extended comments about the situation, Rodgers suggested that his beef is with how he has been treated by the front office.
“It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go,” Rodgers said last month in an interview with Kenny Mayne on SportsCenter. “It’s about character, it’s about culture, it’s about doing things the right way.”
This is the first time in Rodgers’ career that he will have skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp. In fact, until this year, he had been a regular participant in most — if not all — of the offseason program.
Rodgers was in Hawaii with his fiancée, actress Shailene Woodley, and other friends during the first week of OTA practices last month. LaFleur is expected to address reporters after practice Tuesday, which begins at 11 a.m. CDT.
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