Rodgers signs revamped contract with Packers
Old friend Cobb back on board to help star QB
Aaron Rodgers signed a reworked contract with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, ESPN reported, with the Packers voiding the 2023 season from the deal.
The report said the Packers also removed certain forfeiture provisions from the contract that would have allowed the team to try to recoup portions of Rodgers' signing bonus.
Green Bay offered concessions to Rodgers to appease the reigning MVP quarterback and persuade him to report to the team for training camp. Over the off-season, Rodgers made clear he was unhappy with how the franchise had gone about its business and hadn't given him a larger say in matters relating to the team.
Of those concessions, it appears one was a trade with the Houston Texans to acquire former Packers receiver Randall Cobb, one of Rodgers' old favourite targets.
“Obviously without Aaron (Rodgers), I don't think we would be pursuing that,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Thursday. “Randall is still a really good player . ... This was a very important thing for Aaron, and that's why we did it.”
Cobb, who turns 31 next month, was acquired Wednesday from the Houston Texans for a 2022 sixthround pick. Houston will pick up US$3 million of his salary to make the deal work under the salary cap.
Rodgers said Wednesday he deserves input on personnel matters that “directly impact” his job, and Gutekunst supported that notion, saying Rodgers “earned that right.”
Cobb played for the Packers from 2011-18 before spending 2019 with the Dallas Cowboys and 2020 with Houston. He had his best season in Green Bay in 2014, making the Pro Bowl with career highs in catches (91), receiving yards (1,287) and touchdown grabs (12).
Now Rodgers is not locked into staying Green Bay as long. It was previously reported that the Packers were prepared to agree with Rodgers to review his situation at the end of the 2021 season.
The number of Arizona Cardinals players on the reserve/ COVID-19 list has grown to eight.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said Thursday from training camp in Glendale, Ariz., that centre Rodney Hudson, offensive linemen Justin Pugh and Kelvin Beachum, and wide receivers Andy Isabella and Keesean Johnson are in the COVID -19 protocols and would be put on the list. They will join wide receiver Rico Gafford, offensive lineman Shaq Calhoun and cornerback Lorenzo Burns.
NFL Network reported Thursday that more than 90 per cent of the Cardinals' players have been vaccinated. Fully vaccinated players can return to the team after two negative tests taken 24 hours apart. Under league rules, unvaccinated players are required to isolate for at least 10 days.
Washington Football Team quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is fully vaccinated and more than willing to be a sounding board for teammates who aren't yet certain about the COVID-19 protocol.
“I've had plenty of guys engage me in conversation, questions ... guys that have been vaccinated and guys that haven't been vaccinated,” Fitzpatrick said. “I just tell them what I think. It's a personal choice. That's the end of the discussion for me. If you are making a decision on what you think is best for you and your family, beautiful. The decision might be different for me. That's the way I go about it, respect everybody else's decision.”
WFT head coach Ron Rivera said at the start of training camp that he was “perplexed” by the low vaccination numbers for the team. Rivera survived cancer last year and is immunocompromised.
Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson and the New York Jets reached an agreement on a contract, ending the No. 2 overall draft pick's brief training camp holdout.
The deal is for four years and US$35.15 million, with a $22.92 million signing bonus. The base salary grows from $660,000 this year to $5.45 million in Year 4, per Spotrac. The Jets hold the fifthyear option.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts brought fans to their feet at training camp Thursday with a long touchdown pass to first-round pick Devonta Smith in a pairing the Philadelphia Eagles envision seeing much more of in 2021.
But first-year head coach Nick Sirianni would not label Hurts the starter at the position on Wednesday as rumours of the Houston Texans shopping Deshaun Watson floated their way to Philly.
Hurts started for the final month of last season after Carson Wentz was benched by Doug Pederson. Wentz was traded in the off-season to the Indianapolis Colts, and the Eagles didn't draft a challenger to Hurts in April.
“Right now, Jalen is in with the ones,” Sirianni said of his training camp plans for the quarterback. “He's earned that because he's worked his butt off. We're hoping that he takes the reins and rolls with it and continues to just get good reps with the ones.”
Randall is still a really good player . ... This was a very important thing for Aaron, and that's why we did it.
Injured quarterback Dak Prescott took the practice field with the Cowboys on Thursday in Oxnard, Calif., one day after leaving a training camp session with a Grade 1 shoulder strain.
Prescott walked off the field with medical staff on Wednesday and was taken for an MRI, which revealed the mild strain in his right (throwing) shoulder.
The Dallas Morning News reported Prescott could miss multiple weeks to guarantee the strain is fully healed.
But Prescott, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Thursday, said he doesn't think the injury is serious and plans to practise with the Cowboys during camp.