Aaron Rodgers has broken his silence about the recent drama in Green Bay, and he offered harsh criticism of two former teammates.
Last week, an article from Tyler Dunne of Bleacher Report uncovered the patently unsurprising drama within the Green Bay Packers as Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach ended. The piece painted Aaron Rodgers in an equally bad light and on Monday the quarterback responded.
During an interview with Jason Wilde and Mark Tauscher on ESPN Radio in Milwaukee, Rodgers classified Dunne’s article as a “smear attack.”
Rodgers dismissed a real feud with McCarthy and the indication of a grudge against his former head coach dating back to the first round of the 2005 draft, when the 49ers (with McCarthy as offensive coordinator) took Alex Smith No. 1 overall while Rodgers waited until the 24th overall pick to be taken by the Packers.
But it was Rodgers’ criticism of two former teammates that stood out, after he called out Dunne.
“This was a smear attack by a writer looking to advanced his career talking with mostly irrelevant, bitter players who all have an agenda whether they’re advancing their own careers or just trying to stir old stuff up.”
Besides his criticism of Dunne, however excessive, Rodgers was clearly pointing out two former teammates.
While others have remained anonymous, former Packers’ wide receiver Greg Jennings and former tight end Jermichael Finley have had no trouble being attributed to quotes criticizing Rodgers in recent years.
Rodgers didn’t name them in his own comments, but they are clearly who he is referring to as “irrelevant, bitter players.”
Jennings works as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports. He has been something of a go-to guy to offer broader comment on Rodgers, when warranted, via FS1’s studio shows. So in terms of an agenda to advance a career, Jennings is the obvious target of those specific words from Rodgers.
The Packers started offseason work on Monday, so Rodgers is sure to be asked about the Bleacher Report article when the media gets a chance to do so.
But he has broken his silence on the major talking points, in a setting he ultimately had significant control over and therefore could get all his thoughts out there in a measured manner.