Before Aaron Rodgers publicly declared his desire to play for the New York Jets, the Green Bay Packers claimed they had trouble getting ahold of him.
During his introductory press conference with the New York media on Wednesday, Rodgers provided a curious explanation for the lack of communication.
“I don’t know if I really need to get into the specifics. I will say, people that know me, I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful house, the only downside is I have very limited cell service, so if you want to get a hold of me, I have to see your face, you have to FaceTime me,” Rodgers said. “The only response to the communication thing is, there’s records in your phone about who called you, when, FaceTime, and there wasn’t any specific FaceTimes for many of those numbers that I was looking at.”
Of course, Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about Rodgers’ claim, and he contended that the team “certainly” tried to speak with its longtime quarterback.
“There was no lack of effort by us. We tried to communicate on a number of different levels,” Gutekunst said, via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst didn’t want to get into the whole FaceTime thing between him and Aaron Rodgers saying, “Certainly we tried to communicate … There was no lack of effort by us. We tried to communicate on a number of different levels.” pic.twitter.com/fNCkk4QDu1
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) April 26, 2023
Bottom line: if Rodgers really wanted to speak with the Packers, he would have. His FaceTime excuse doesn’t really hold water.
Either way, he and the Packers have moved on. Rodgers is with the Jets, and Green Bay is building its future with Jordan Love.