Aaron Rodgers not in attendance at start of Packers’ OTAs, per report

Amid the reported strife between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, May 24th is a notable day. The Packers begin their organized team activities practices on Monday, and with Rodgers reportedly displeased with the team, the stage was set for him to skip these voluntary workouts.

On Sunday, a video surfaced of Rodgers and fiancée Shailene Woodley on vacation in Hawaii, providing a clear indication that he would not be in Green Bay on Monday. Now news out of Green Bay says that Rodgers indeed is not in attendance, coming first from ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Rodgers has a $500,000 workout bonus clause in his contract that would pay out if he attends at least 85 percent of the team’s offseason workout program. His absence on Monday is an indication that he is prepared to forfeit that check, which is one of the larger such bonuses on the team’s books for 2021. That money should clear off the Packers’ salary cap for 2021, however, offering up another half-million in cap space.

Rodgers may not be the only notable Packer skipping OTAs, however. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated indicates that “there have been a large (number)” of Packers skipping offseason workouts to this point amid a rift between the NFL and the NFLPA over the future of offseason workouts. However, Breer indicates that the team’s rookies and other players with workout bonuses

Although Rodgers will not be present, the Packers do have three quarterbacks available to operate practices efficiently. Jordan Love, Blake Bortles, and Kurt Benkert will spend the next few weeks throwing the football to the receivers who are in attendance. The next question will be around the team’s mandatory minicamp, which runs from June 8th to 10th. If Rodgers were to skip that event, the team could begin levying fines against him that could total $96,000 should he fail to report on any of the three days.

Stay tuned for more news on which Packers are or are not in attendance at OTAs.