Rodgers donates $1M to hometown

Packers quarterback and reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers donated $1 million to help 80 locally owned business in and around his hometown of Chico, California. The businesses that Rodgers is assisting are all either in Chico or in Butte County, where Chico is located. Restaurants and retail businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees could apply for help through this fund. All 80 of those businesses will receive grants through the Aaron Rodgers Small-Business COVID-19 Fund at North Valley Community Foundation in Chico. The grants will total over $1 million. These grants will help cover rent for an average of three months or longer, and they also will assist in other costs. “Small, locally owned businesses are the heart and soul of a community,” Rodgers said in a statement. “... It was heart-wrenching to hear about all the obstacles facing restaurants and retail establishments. So many are struggling just to stay in business but remain hopeful that there’s an end to this.” Rodgers also donated $1 million to recovery of the fires that hit Butte County in November 2018.

Not even Alex Smith expected to be back on a football field after suffering a compound leg fracture in November 2018, his leg ravaged and his career seemingly over just 10 games after arriving in Washington.

But after achieving the improbable, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year may soon begin a new chapter. The Washington Football Team is expected to release Smith in the coming days, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, allowing him to move on to his next football stop while the team looks to revamp its roster and upgrade at the quarterback position.

The former No. 1 overall pick out of Utah, who had already played 13 seasons before his comeback, defied the odds last season torestorenotonlyhiscareerbutalsoWashington’s playoff hopes, leading the team on a 5-1 run to claim the division title and a postseason berth for the first time in five years.

His impending release will save Washington $14.7 million in salary-cap space, bringing the team’s total to roughly $53 million, the fourth-most in the league. It will also leave Washington with an uncertain future as it searches for its next franchise quarterback — with few clear options. The team re-signed Taylor Heinicke to a two-year deal after his standout performance in a first-round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and will likely retain Kyle Allen on a minimal one-year restricted free agent tag.

Three years ago, Smith was Washington’s long-term answer. But in recent weeks, Smith’s departure from Washington appeared more probable, both because of his contract — he had two years left and a cap charge of $23.3 million for this season — and lingering uncertainty over his durability and mobility.

Smith suffered a bone bruise in his surgically repaired right leg that kept him from playing in two regular-season games as well as Washington’s playoff loss, and even when healthy, his ability to escape the pass rush was diminished. Smith, who will be 37 at the start of next season, has foot drop because of the injuries and the 17 surgeries it took to repair the bones and clean out a bacterial infection. He can no longer lift his foot up toward his shin, and while he wears a light brace to help him overcome the deficiency, his mobility appeared limited during the season.

The news of Smith’s impending release, which was first reported by NFL Network, comes less than a week after a candid interview he gave to GQ Magazine published, in which Smith said that his comeback last offseason“threwawrench”intoWashington’s plans under new coach Ron Rivera. He said the team “didn’t see it, didn’t want me there, didn’t want me to be a part of it, didn’t want me to be on the team, the roster, didn’t want to give me a chance” last summer as he attempted to complete his comeback from his injury.

“Mind you, it was a whole new regime, they came in, I’m like the leftovers and I’m hurt and I’m this liability,” Smith added in the interview. “Heck no, they didn’t want me there.”

But Smith was added to the initial 53-man roster last September and soon became a vital piece of Washington’s success.