Rodgers sought treatments instead of COVID-19 vaccine

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Friday he sought alternative treatments instead of the NFL-endorsed COVID-19 vaccinations because he is allergic to an ingredient in two of the FDA-approved shots.

Speaking on SiriusXM’s “Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers said: “I’m not an antivax, flat-earther. I have an allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long-term immunization protocol to protect myself and I’m very proud of the research that went into that.”

Rodgers, who turns 38 on Dec. 2, did not say what ingredient he was allergic to, or how he knows he is allergic.

Rodgers, who has been tested daily as part of NFL protocols for the unvaccinated, found out he contracted COVID-19 on Wednesday. The reigning NFL MVP said he didn’t feel well on Thursday but was much better on Friday.

Rodgers can’t rejoin the Packers for 10 days, missing Sunday’s game at Kansas City. He must have a negative test to return to the team on Nov. 13.

During the interview with McAfee, Rodgers misquoted the CDC website and offered his explanation for why hasn’t taken the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Rodgers said the CDC’s website says “should you have an allergy to any of the ingredients, you should not get one of the mRNA vaccines. So those two (Moderna and Pfizer) were out already.”

Instead the CDC site says, “If you have had a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction — even if it was not severe — to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get either of the currently available mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.”

Rodgers did not say he had an allergic reaction.

He said with some of the public issues involving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — clotting and his “hearing of multiple people who had had adverse events around getting the J&J ... the J&J shot was not even an option at that point.”

Beckham Jr. released

CLEVELAND » Odell Beckham Jr.’s run his last route for the Browns. He’s wide open now.

The polarizing wide receiver is being released by Cleveland, which is cutting ties with Beckham after a dramafilled stay that ended with him being told to stay home from practice.

Beckham’s unceremonious exit — not completely official — came on Friday, his 29th birthday, and a few days after his father shared a video on social media highlighting times when Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t throw passes to the three-time Pro Bowler.

It was a tipping point in the team’s often-unstable relationship with him.