Rodgers says he still hasn’t decided on his 2022 plans
GREEN BAY, WIS. — Aaron Rodgers says he’s still making up his mind about whether he wants to return to the Green Bay Packers next season.
“There will be no news today,” the four-time MVP quarterback said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and SiriusXM. “No decision on my future.”
Rodgers said after the season that he would try to make a decision about his 2022 plans in relatively short order rather than dragging out the process. The reigning MVP said at the time that he hadn’t ruled out any option, including returning to the Packers for an 18th season, retiring or requesting a trade.
When Rodgers sent out an Instagram post late Monday night thanking current and former teammates and coaches among others, it raised speculation that an announcement on his future could be forthcoming. Rodgers said Tuesday he just wanted to show some gratitude to people who have helped him over the past year.
“I just came out of a 12-day cleanse where you’re eating a specific diet and you’re going through these treatments every day and you’re not really doing anything else,” Rodgers said during his 40-minute conversation.
“You’ve got to kind of turn everything else off, so you’re not working out, you’re not straining or anything. It’s kind of a re-centering. It not only heals you physically, but I think it takes away mental stress and then the spiritual part I think is it allows you to kind of enjoy the meditations a little more, so when I come out, my first thought is intense gratitude for the people in my life.”
Ex-Dolphins coach Flores: Race played a factor in firing
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores thinks race placed a factor in the team’s decision to fire him in January.
Speaking on the “I Am Athlete” podcast co-hosted by former NFL wide receivers Chad Johnson and Brandon Marshall, and Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Flores alleged he was given tasks that he doesn’t think would have been required of a white head coach. Flores went 25-24 in three seasons with Miami before being let go on Jan. 10.
Flores, who was hired over the weekend to be a senior defensive assistant for the Pittsburgh Steelers, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL alleging racist hiring practices. Flores has no plans to abandon the lawsuit even though he has returned to coach in the league.
“I think race played a role in my firing,” Flores said on the podcast. “What I mean by that is, there were things I was asked to do. There were conversations that were had. I was made out to be a difficult person to work with. I think my white counterparts wouldn’t have been asked to do the things I was asked to do.”
Flores did not offer specifics on what the Dolphins asked of him that he considered racially based.
Flores, who turns 41 on Thursday, is now on the staff led by Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, one of three Black head coaches in the league along with Houston’s Lovie Smith and Miami’s Mike McDaniels, who identifies as biracial. Flores interviewed for the job that ultimately went to Smith, who was an assistant head coach for the Texans last season. Flores has maintained he was not hired because of his pending litigation against the league.
Judge: Depositions of Texans QB can begin in assault suits
A judge has declined efforts by attorneys for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to delay all his depositions in connection with lawsuits filed by 22 women who have accused him of sexual assault and harassment.
During a court hearing on Monday, defense attorney Rusty Hardin had asked that depositions in the case be delayed until after an ongoing criminal investigation of the allegations against Watson concluded.
Hardin said Houston police have already forwarded their findings to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and he believed a grand jury could make a decision in the case by April 1. Eight of the women filed criminal complaints against Watson. The FBI is also reviewing the allegations.