Packers: Aaron Rodgers reportedly not expected at minicamp

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been in attendance for the Green Bay Packers‘ OTAs over the past couple of weeks.

On Tuesday, the Packers will begin their three-day mandatory minicamp. The key word there is mandatory, but that doesn’t mean Rodgers will be in attendance.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, it’s expected, “barring any developments overnight”, that Rodgers won’t be at minicamp this week.

It’s hardly surprising news. The fact Rodgers hasn’t turned up this far hardly made it seem likely he’d be there for minicamp. The one difference here is that whereas OTAs were voluntary, Rodgers could potentially be fined should he miss minicamp over the next few days.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers could fine Rodgers $93,085 if he misses minicamp, although he added that the team could decide to waive the fine. If they choose to do that, there wouldn’t be any more reason for Rodgers to attend minicamp than there was for him to turn up to OTAs.

However, that will all change at training camp. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Rodgers would be fined $50,000 for every day missed at training camp, and that would be mandatory. The team wouldn’t be able to waive those fines.

With all this in mind, it’s unsurprising that Rodgers isn’t expected to be in attendance this week. What will be the most interesting to see is whether Rodgers returns for training camp. If not, he will be fined, but it would be a concerning sign that the Packers might actually have to begin the season without their reigning MVP.

If there’s a good takeaway from all of this, it’s that Jordan Love is getting extended time on the practice field. That’s not a bad thing.

But it will become more worrying if Rodgers isn’t back when training camp begins next month.