Rodgers doesn’t attend Packers’ first day of OTAs
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t present for the first day of organized team activities Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation.
These OTA sessions are voluntary, but Rodgers generally has participated in them in the past. ESPN first reported Rodgers wasn’t with the team on Monday.
Rodgers’ decision not to participate this time comes amid reports that the reigning MVP wants out of Green Bay, where he has spent his entire NFL career.
ESPN reported in the hours before the draft that the three-time MVP doesn’t want to return to the Packers. Later that week, Packers CEO Mark Murphy wrote in a column posted on the Packers’ website that the team “is very much aware” of Rodgers’ concerns and that “this is an issue that we have been working on for several months.”
Murphy acknowledged in his column that he, general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur all had visited Rodgers on a number of occasions during this offseason.
Gutekunst has said the team has no plans to trade Rodgers, who has three years remaining on his contract. Packers officials have said they want to keep Rodgers in Green Bay in 2021 and beyond.
“We want him back in the worst way,” LaFleur said earlier this month during the team’s rookie minicamp. “I know he knows that and, you know, we’ll continue to work at it each and every day.”
NFL will review Chung allegations
The NFL plans to review Eugene Chung’s allegations that a team official made discriminatory comments during his interview for a coaching position.
Chung, a 1992 first-round pick by New England who played five seasons in the league and served as an assistant coach for a decade, told The Boston Globe he was told he was “not the right minority” by an interviewer. Chung, who is Korean American, didn’t identify the team.
“We will review the matter,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “That comment is completely inappropriate and contrary to league values and workplace policies. The NFL and its clubs are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all personnel in a manner that is consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Chung most recently was part of Philadelphia’s coaching staff from 201619. He started 30 games at both guard spots for the Patriots in his first two seasons in the NFL in 1992-93 and played one season with Jacksonville and one with Indianapolis.
Chung began his coaching career with the Eagles on Andy Reid’s staff in 2010 as an assistant offensive line coach. He followed Reid to Kansas City in 2013 and came to Philadelphia with Doug Pederson in 2016.